Buru Energy Ltd (ASX:BRU), together with partner Energy Resources Ltd (EnRes), a fully owned subsidiary of Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX:MIN), has been successful in its application for two more highly prospective petroleum exploration areas in the Northern Carnarvon Basin and the Merlinleigh Sub-basin.
The L22-2 and L22-4 areas, part of the recent WA Government Petroleum Acreage Release 2 of 2022, have been offered to the joint venture of EnRes as operator (75%) and Buru (25%).
Long-term expansion strategy
The applications for these areas are part of Buru’s long-term strategy to leverage its proprietary knowledge of the Palaeozoic petroleum systems of the Canning Basin to expand into underexplored and prospective onshore petroleum acreage outside the Canning Basin.
“These areas substantially advance Buru’s strategy to leverage our considerable in-house geoscience expertise to grow our exposure to future onshore energy developments,” CEO Thomas Nador said.
“The recent activity in the Perth Basin both geologically and corporately illustrates the major impact that gas discoveries can have, particularly in these underexplored basins close to infrastructure.
“We are very pleased that our strong relationship with EnRes has resulted in a 100% success rate with our joint exploration permit applications and I wish to express my congratulations to the team.”
The areas lie immediately to the south of the EP 510 permit that Buru also shares with EnRes.
These permits are subject to the completion of Native Title agreements, which Buru says the JV looks forward to completing with the relevant parties.
The Buru and EnRes joint venture already operates in permit EP 510 immediately to the north of the application areas and is planning to drill two exploration wells on EP 510 in the 2024 calendar year.
Largest acreage holder
The addition of the two new areas makes the joint venture the largest acreage holder in the onshore Carnarvon Basin and Merlinleigh Sub-basin and will enable the partnership to consolidate and optimise its exploration activities in the region.
Area L22-2 is south of EP 510 and covers 4,908 square kilometres. This permit contains the southern extension of the petroleum plays in EP 510 and regional analysis demonstrates the area is prospective for both oil and gas in a variety of play types.
Area L22-4 is immediately to the south of L22-2 and overlies the northern extent of the under-explored Merlinleigh Sub-basin.
This permit covers an area of 6,444 square kilometres and is prospective for gas with potential large structures identified.
The proximity of the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline immediately east of these areas will drive accelerated development of gas discoveries in the area.