Lakes Blue Energy announces farmout deal with Cooper Energy

Sydney-listed Lakes Blue Energy on October 23 announced a farmout agreement with fellow Australian energy company Cooper Energy for PEP 169, an exploration permit in the Otway basin, Victoria. The permit contains the Enterprise North gas project, which is targeted for drilling around mid-2024.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cooper will make an upfront payment of A$1.2mn ($0.76mn) to Lakes and fund Lakes' share of the cost of drilling the Enterprise North-1 well, up to an agreed maximum A$1.25mn cap. In return, Cooper will receive a 25.1% interest in PEP 169.

The farmout agreement provides Lakes with the funding it needs to drill the Enterprise North-1 well. The well is targeting a large gas prospect, and if successful, it could lead to a significant increase in the value of Lakes, the company said.

Cooper operates the Athena gas plant, which was developed to process gas from the now abandoned, offshore Minerva gas field. The Athena gas plant has spare capacity available. The Enterprise North prospect is on trend with, and analogous to, both the Minerva and Enterprise gas fields, Lakes said.

PEP 169 is presently owed by Lakes (49%) and Armour Energy (51%).