Adelaide, June 29, 2006 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The search for new Australian oil and gas reserves has been boosted by today's announcement of a significantly expanded $100 million-plus exploration and appraisal program to be undertaken by Beach Petroleum Limited in the upcoming financial year.
The new program will see the Top 10 petroleum producer drill 69 exploration and appraisal wells in 2006-2007 - up from 19 in the current year.
Beach said the heightened drilling program is designed to increase annual production to above 5 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in 2007-2008. This compares to an output of 1.4 million barrels of oil this year.
Drill targets include an offshore Australian oil prospect, the Company's first offshore target in New Zealand and a Surat Basin well in Queensland - as well as current operations in the onshore Cooper-Eromanga basins and the offshore Gippsland Basin.
The aggressive exploration push does not include Beach Petroleum's current participation in a 75-well program in the Tipton West coal seam gas project in Queensland.
Beach's 2006-2007 drilling schedule, announced today, includes:
Exploration
- 39 wells in the Cooper/Eromanga Basin
- 1 well in each of the Surat, Otway, Carnarvon and Canterbury (NZ) basins
Appraisal
- 25 Cooper/Eromanga wells
- 1 Gippsland Basin well.
"Our objective is to rapidly add to reserves in excess of production through exploration success, and minimise production costs per barrel," Beach Petroleum's Managing Director, Mr Reg Nelson, said today.
"Beach has increased reserves to around 30 million boe currently despite successive increases in annual production over the past 5 years," Mr Nelson said.
"We are keen to maintain and improve on this performance," he said.
"Strategically, our forecast production and minimum reserve targets have been set on current assets and their known or estimated performance ceilings and are exclusive of contributions from future acquisitions."
Key production contributors
The Company's expected major production contributors in the next 12 months will be Beach's key assets in the Cooper/Eromanga and Gippsland Basins.
The offshore Gippsland Basker-Manta oil project last month completed a successful extended production test and will move to full field production in October at an expected production rate of approximately 12,500 barrels of oil per day, net to Beach.
First sales from the 40%-owned Tipton West (Qld) coal seam gas fields - expected in March next year.
Mr Nelson said Beach Petroleum would also benefit from the emerging gas potential of the Cooper/Eromanga Basin, in partnership with the Company's strong oil production from the province and its recent move to take a strategic $14.5 million or 19.9% stake in fellow ASX-listed Cooper Basin producer, Great Artesian Oil and Gas Limited.
Contact
Reg Nelson
Beach Petroleum Limited
TEL: +61 8 8338 2833
Kevin Skinner
Field Public Relations
TEL: +61 8 8234 9555 / 0414 822 631
Mark Lindh
Investor Relations
TEL: +61 414 551 361
| ||
|
