Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent
MELBOURNE, Aug. 22 -- Beach Petroleum Ltd., Adelaide, has farmed into two exploration permits in the Bass basin off northern Tasmania.
The company will earn an 80% stake in a defined part of the T/P38 permit by paying part of the cost of drilling the Spikey Beach-1 well during second-half 2008.
About the same time it will participate in drilling the Peejay-1 well in adjoining T/P39 in return for a 50% interest in the entire permit.
Both permits lie in the south-central area of the basin in less than 100 m of water.
The wells will evaluate the oil potential of two relatively simple structural traps at the top of the Cretaceous-age Eastern View Coal Measures on the basin's southern flank.
The Spikey Beach permit has the potential to hold as much as 33 million bbl of reserves, and Peejay up to 57 million bbl, Beach said.
Melbourne companies Cue Energy Resources Ltd. and Exoil Ltd. each hold a 10% interest in T/P38, and the 50% joint participant in T/P39 is Melbourne-based Benaris Petroleum Ltd.
Beach already has production in Bass Strait from Basker and Manta fields in the Gippsland basin further to the east.
