Carnarvon Petroleum Limited reported Tuesday that it has commissioned independent technical advisor, DeGolyer and MacNaughton, to assess the potential recoverable oil within the Phoenix 3D seismic area offshore Western Australia, which includes the Phoenix South-1 discovery and the Roc prospect, based on data provided by Apache Energy.
Carnarvon’s Managing Director, Adrian Cook said:
“In the context of recent Australian oil discoveries, these estimates of recoverable oil within the Phoenix South and nearby structures are significant and great news in terms of our strategy of opening up an entirely new oil province on the North West Shelf.
The provision of a range of outcomes is normal industry practice; and the extent of the range indicates that we are still in the early stage of understanding what we have. In particular, the recoverable volumes have been calculated using a reasonably conservative and broad range of recovery factors. The ongoing technical work, including “special core analysis”, is expected to refine this range.
The Roc-1 well is a standout exploration opportunity given the best estimate Prospective Resource of 42 million barrels of oil, which is definitely a commercially attractive proposition if confirmed, and a high 42 percent chance of success. A high-side outcome of up to 133 million barrels of recoverable oil would be an outstanding result and there is little capital risk to investors as the first $14 million of Carnarvon’s share of any drilling activity in the permit will be paid for by Apache and JX Nippon.
DeGolyer and MacNaughton also verified Apache’s initial oil in place estimate of up to 300 million barrels for the Phoenix South structure alone, assessing 296 million barrels of oil in place and 56 million barrels recoverable in the high side case.
This continues to be an exciting time for Carnarvon, with the ongoing assessment of further prospective resources, Roc-1 drilling scheduled for this year and further data acquisition to identify additional prospectivity in the region held by the Joint Venture Partners.
We appreciate the patience of our shareholders while we have been working through the technical data and test programs and will continue to provide ongoing updates as we progress.”
The Joint Venture, led by Apache as operator, continues its work on the Phoenix South-1 well data and the data from previously drilled wells in the permit. This work addresses many geological aspects including reservoir development and quality, the type and potential source of the oils discovered and determining where the same results may occur elsewhere in the blocks. The work is expected to continue for a significant period of time and further updates will incorporate this work as it progresses.
Importantly, these volume estimates are subject to ongoing technical analysis that is currently being undertaken by the operator, Apache, including “special core analysis”. As Apache does not have a firm timetable for completion of volume estimates, Carnarvon initiated the DeGolyer and MacNaughton assessment using available Joint Venture data.
The cost of the Roc-1 well will be covered by Apache and JX Nippon to $70 million (gross cost of well) thereafter the parties pay their respective share. DeGolyer and MacNaughton have assessed a high technical chance of success on this well of 42 percent.
The equity interest holders are:
WA-435-P and WA-437-P
Carnarvon Petroleum – 20 percent
Apache Energy (Operator) – 40 percent
JX Nippon – 20 percent
Finder Exploration – 20 percent
by Carnarvon Petroleum Ltd.