Adelaide, June 30, 2008 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Beach Petroleum Limited (ASX:BPT)(PINK:BEPTF) today announced record oil production from its Cooper-Eromanga Basins assets for the 2007-08 financial year and expects its assets in Australia's flagship onshore oil province to deliver even higher output in 2008-09.
The oil and gas group is also forecasting further significant growth in its Queensland coal seam gas assets.
Beach (ASX: "BPT") said today that its record 2007-08 Cooper/Eromanga basin oil production achieved in the current financial year was partnered by an increase in the company's oil reserves in the basin.
Beach's preliminary figures announced today for the current financial year, which ends today, showed an 18% rise in Cooper/Eromanga oil production to a record 2.0 million barrels of oil (mmb) - up from 1.6 mmb in 2006-07.
Propelling the Company's onshore oil output from for the new financial year commencing tomorrow will be the first full year's production from the Parsons oil field (Beach 75%) to the west of Moomba.
The Parsons-1 well, which only commenced production this month, has averaged gross production of about 1,600 barrels of oil per day (bopd) with initial volumes trucked to Tantanna. Production will eventually be tied via flowline to Beach's Callawonga pipeline, due to commence first deliveries from next month south to Port Bonython.
Despite the record onshore oil production, Beach's 2007-08 success has enabled the Company to lift Cooper/Eromanga oil reserves by 27% to above 15 mmb, from 12 mmb at 30 June 2007.
The reserves growth was driven by Beach's $110 million participation in an exploration and development campaign across the basin.
Its participation for the year in 70 oil wells in the region delivered a success rate of 65%.
Outlook strong for Cooper/Eromanga Oil
"Our preliminary assessment of current and future oil output from the Cooper/Eromanga basin points to still further significant growth in reserves and production," Beach Petroleum's Managing Director, Mr Reg Nelson, said today.
"Beach is upbeat about the province. We added 4.9 mmb during the year and at a highly competitive Finding and Development (F&D) cost of A$22/bbl" Mr Nelson said.
"We participate in a wide range of projects in the Cooper/Eromanga, have a different risk/reward profile and cost structure than other operators, and are distinguished from other companies by our western flank program which includes the Callawonga/Parsons region.
"The Company continues to make higher impact discoveries in this sector from within the Namur and Hutton Sandstones.
"The latest full year performance reflects the fact our oil production and reserves for the region has economically grown for the past four years on a year-on-year basis and is expected to do so for at least another 2-3 years."
Expected boost to 2P coal seam gas reserves
Mr Nelson also flagged today an expected 2008-09 increase in Beach Petroleum's sizeable coal seam gas reserves at Tipton West in Queensland's Surat Basin to compliment the group's rising onshore oil output and reserves.
He said Beach had been advised by the Operator (Arrow Energy) that a reserves review was currently being finalised for Tipton West and that a substantial increase in 2P reserves was likely within the coming September quarter.
"Activity at Tipton West this year has increased our confidence in the reserve base and highlighted potential of the Taroom Coal Measures, which underly the producing (Juandah) section in the Tipton Field," Mr Nelson said.
"This has implications not only for the reserve potential of Tipton West (the current reserve base includes no Taroom reserves), but also for longer term development costs.
"Future development wells may produce 'co-mingled' outputs from the Juandah/Taroom, resulting in greater flow rates and reserves per well and lower development costs."
Contact
Reg Nelson
Beach Petroleum
TEL: +61-8-8338-2833
Mark Lindh
Adelaide Equity
TEL: +61-414-551-361
Ian Howarth
Farrington National
TEL: +61-3-0223-2455
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