Central Petroleum (ASX:CTP) has received a report that puts the company's hydrocarbons in the Southern Georgina Basin at a “mean” level in their Southern Georgina permit applications comparable to the well established Bakken and Barnett Shale in onshore North American plays.
There has been a significant uptick in in unconventional exploration and development globally in recent years and much of that interest stems from developments in North America, where major oil companies such as Shell, BP, BHP Billiton and Exxon Mobil have acquired parts of new unconventional plays such as the Barnett Shale and Bakken Shale with technically recoverable resources of 50 TCF gas and 4 billion barrels of oil respectively.
In the report released by DSWPET, “Unconventional Reservoir Resource Assessment of the Arthur Creek Formation Georgina Basin, Australia for Central Petroleum Pty Limited” the report concludes there is a total “mean” prospective recoverable resource of five billion barrels of oil and 33 trillion cubic feet of gas over net acreage position of 6 million acres within the the company's Southern Georgina Basin permit applications.
This is subject to the granting of the permits concerned, EPA 132 and ATPs 909,911 and 912.
John Heugh, Central’s managing director, said "exploration and farmin plans announced by Rodinia Resources, Hess Exploration, PetroFrontier, TME Resources and others have excited interest in these very large regional frontier basins.”
“Central operates permits and applications in the Southern Georgina and the Amadeus that have now been assessed independently as having a total of 6 billion barrels of oil and 59 trillion cubic feet of gas in technically recoverable prospective resources at “mean” level."
Heugh was a leader in assessing unconventional hydrocarbons in its central Australian project areas in April 2008, before any other company in Australia publically promoted unconventional potential.
He said he was prompted to do this by his experience working in the Amadeus Basin in the 1980s when drilling the Horn Valley Siltstone often produced good gas and oil shows. In recent years the techniques coming out of North America have showed how to successfully develop unconventional resources.
North American companies have successfully exploited unconventional resources for over a decade. With access to their capital and to technical know-how and ultimately appropriate equipment and crews will flow to Australia to aid in exploration of ground held by various companies including Central.
Central's Exploration 132 (EP) is partially contiguous with the permits of Baraka Energy & Resources (ASX: BKP) and PetroFrontier Corp's (TSX-V: PFC) in the Toko Syncline and the Bradley Shelf, with these two companies recently announcing a drilling program to test unconventional resources in the area.
Interest in the Southern Georgina Basin is hotting up as PetroFrontier Corp looks to spud its first well in the Basin, the horizontal well Baldwin-2 on EP 103. Rainfall has delayed likely spud date till May or June.
The second well expected to be drilled by PetroFrontier in the Basin will be a horizontal well MacIntyre-2 in EP 127, Northern Territory, Australia where PetroFrontier holds a 75% working interest and is also the operator and Baraka Energy holds a 25% interest.
Central will look to accelerate a programme over the next 12 months focussed on re-entry and testing of Surprise-1 for oil potential in both conventional and unconventional horizons.
In addition it will look to drill the Mt Kitty well, a sub-salt 2 TCFG UGIIP (P50 or “best”) gas/condensate/helium prospect and the drilling of Madigan-1, the first well on a giant structure in the Pedirka Basin with UOIIP (P50 or “best”) potential of over 3 billion barrels based on preliminary mapping of new seismic acquired in 2010.
Seismic acquisition and future drilling plans over a number of play types are also being evaluated inclusive of the Surprise-Johnstone area in EP115 for conventional and unconventional oil exploration or development, the Madigan and Pellinor Devonian reefal carbonate plays in the Pedirka and, subject to grant, unconventional and conventional oil and gas potential within the Company’s Southern Georgina Basin Arthur Creek Shale plays.