Oz Cooper Gets Permit Offshore Victoria
Australian oil and gas explorer Cooper Energy has been awarded the exploration permit VIC/P76 located in the Otway Basin, offshore Victoria, it said September 17.
VIC/P76 comprises an area of 162 km2 in water depths ranging from 60 metres to 70 metres. Commercial gas discoveries surround the permit, including the recently depleted Minerva gas field to the east and the producing Casino, Henry and Netherby gas fields to the west, Cooper said. The Annie gas field discovery, announced earlier this month, adjoins the western boundary of the permit. There are no previous wells drilled within the permit area.
“The recent discovery of gas at Annie-1 has reinforced the prospectivity of this area of the offshore Otway Basin for gas exploration and the high success rate of drilling amplitude-supported targets in the region,” managing director David Maxwell said.
“The fact that VIC/P76 possesses an ‘Annie-look-alike’ makes the permit particularly attractive, especially as the proximity to our existing pipelines and access to the Minerva Gas Plant makes for very supportive development economics” he added.
The permit has been awarded to Cooper Energy for a six-year term, of which the first three years have a guaranteed work programme consisting of geological and geophysical studies and the drilling of one well. Cooper Energy has 100% equity in VIC/P76 and said it will assess the involvement of one or more potential joint venture partners according to value and risk management considerations.