Perth, Sep 10, 2008 AEST (ABN Newswire) - As Beach Petroleum Limited (ASX:BPT)(PINK:BEPTF) gears up to an early October start for its offshore oil and gas drilling program in the Bass and Otway Basins, its onshore Australian activities - gas, oil and geothermal - are also about to increase markedly.
The Company's Managing Director, Reg Nelson, said, "This accelerated activity comes at a time when Beach's large and extensive coal seam gas reserves also deserve recognition and focus following recent high premiums paid for coal seam gas reserves in Queensland."
Beach Petroleum operated Cooper / Eromanga exploration
Beach Petroleum Ltd's exploration effort in the Cooper Basin region of South Australia is being accelerated with the company agreeing to fund the drilling of two wells in permit PEL 106 close to the SA-Queensland border.
As part of a farm-in agreement with Drillsearch Energy Limited (in which Beach retains a significant shareholding), Beach will fund the Brownlow-1 and Canunda-1 wells to earn a 50% stake in the Beach Farmout Block in PEL 106.
Each well will target gas/condensate reserves in Patchawarra Formation sands, analogous to the Raven and Middleton fields.
This drilling will use the Ensign 30 rig which Beach has contracted for a minimum five well Cooper Basin drilling program scheduled to start early in October.
The program will include the Gunyah-1 and Perlubie-1 wells in the highly prospective PEL 92 permit (Beach 75%) where Beach has consistently made a number of significant oil discoveries since 2002, including the Sellicks, Parsons, Callawonga and Christies fields.
Gunyah-1 and Perlubie-1 are targeting oil in the Namur Sandstone, which recorded flow rates on testing of more than 3000 bbls/day of oil in the Parsons Field (on-trend and just 3 km to the north). Their proximity to Parsons means that any new discoveries can be transported to market at low incremental cost through the newly commissioned Callawonga-Tantanna flowline.
Mr Nelson said, "The future potential of this western area continues to look very positive, in our view. We have identified up to 100 prospects and leads using older 2D seismic surveys and these have now been followed up by large regional 3D seismic surveys."
The western area of the Cooper Basin has proved to be a bonus for Beach, which holds 75% of PEL 92. The light sweet crude produced in the area is sold at a premium to the Asian market Tapis benchmark crude oil price.
Mr Nelson said, "It's important to realise that, despite the fall in WTI prices, Tapis prices have remained significantly higher - and have been further boosted by AUD:USD currency exchange rate movements- and on top of this, Beach receives a premium.
"For example, Tapis prices averaged AUD149.19 per barrel during July and AUD141.00 per barrel during August.
"Our finding and developing costs over the last six years in the western flank have averaged less than AUD11 per barrel and Beach has low operating costs, ensuring that oil production from this region remains very profitable."
Beach Petroleum operated Callawonga - Tantanna flowline
The 47 km Callawonga - Tantanna oil production pipeline has been commissioned, directly connecting the Beach operated fields on the western flank of the Cooper Basin with Moomba via Santos' Tantanna facility and thence to Port Bonython. The pipeline, which carried the first oil in August, has an ultimate capacity of 5000 barrels per day (bopd).
It is currently averaging about 3,000 bopd and building. The pipeline significantly reduces oil transportation costs and cuts Beach's dependence on road and truck availability.
Geothermal
Beach Petroleum has also contracted the newly built Weatherford 828 drill rig to drill the Paralana Deep geothermal exploration well. Through a farmin agreement with Petratherm Limited, Beach will operate the drilling of Paralana Deep and earn a 21% interest in four geothermal tenements in the Arrowie Basin in South Australia.
The rig is scheduled to spud Paralana Deep in PEL 178 in February 2009 and to drill to a depth of 4000 meters over a period of about seven weeks.
Contact
Reg Nelson
Beach Petroleum
08 8338 2833
Mark Lindh
Adelaide Equity
0414 551 361
Ian Howarth
Farrington National
03 0223 2455
| ||
|
