Hibiscus takes option on Gippsland permit near Kingfish

July 31, 2019
Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd. has taken up an option to partner with 3D Oil Ltd., Melbourne, in a newly awarded Bass Strait permit close to the giant Kingfish oil field offshore Victoria, Australia.

Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd. has taken up an option to partner with 3D Oil Ltd., Melbourne, in a newly awarded Bass Strait permit close to the giant Kingfish oil field offshore Victoria, Australia.

The agreement details include Hibiscus acquiring a 50% non-operator interest in Vic/P74, a large permit awarded to 3D Oil that lies west of the Kingfish facilities.

The permit covers 1,006 sq km and lies in less than 80 m of water.

The permit is covered by 3D seismic that is currently being reprocessed by CGG.

3D Oil said its rationale for the acquisition is based on the likely enhancement of the seismic data in the basin by CGG’s work.

The company said exploration in this region had been previously hampered by severe depth conversion issues related to velocity complexities in the shallow stratigraphic section above the reservoir target. Recent advances in reprocessing techniques, however, have made improvements regarding this technical issue.

3D Oil suggested that the newly awarded permit may have the potential to contain substantial hydrocarbon accumulations. The permit already contains the Omeo gas-condensate discovery south of ExxonMobil Corp.-BHP’s Bream gas field and west of the same group’s Kingfish oil field.

Kingfish, Australia’s largest oil accumulation, has produced more than 1 billion bbl of oil to date.

Hibiscus, which is an 11.7% equity shareholder in 3D Oil, has 30 days to decide whether to enter into a 50-50 joint venture on a ground-floor basis.