Vintage Energy Pty Limited has moved a major step closer to becoming a significant East coast gas supplier by agreeing to farm-in to the Sandstone reservoir sequence of the Galilee Basin permits ATP743, ATP744 and ATP1015 currently held by Comet Ridge Limited (COI).
The transaction relates only to the ‘Deeps Area’ (Deeps) within each of the Petroleum blocks, which is defined as including all strata commencing underneath the Permian coals (Betts Creek Beds or Aramac coals) with the main target being the Galilee Sandstone sequence.
The Galilee Sandstone sequence has previously flowed gas to surface from the Lake Galilee-1 (1964) and Carmichael-1 (1995) which were targeting oil.
Vintage Energy is a private South Australian based company led by Reg Nelson and Neil Gibbins, formerly the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of ASX listed Beach Energy Limited. Vintage has been established to acquire, explore and develop energy assets, principally within Australia. The Company has a highly experienced board and technical team with many decades of management, operational and technical experience in the oil and gas industry.
Vintage Energy Managing Director, Neil Gibbins, said, “Vintage is moving quickly to secure a suite of highly prospective gas assets with the potential for early production. The company was formed specifically to discover and develop assets with the potential for early production and supply into the eastern Australian gas market.
"The high quality technical and commercial work undertaken by Comet Ridge has strongly highlighted the potential of this previously overlooked Galilee Basin Sandstone conventional gas target. Gas has already been discovered in the Galilee asset and, with future appraisal success, the asset could quickly become a significant contributor to the East coast gas market. Given the Lake Galilee-1 and Carmichael-1 wells have previously flowed gas to the surface, the application of the latest technology and the utilisation of Nitrogen drilling could unlock significant upside. There are also additional targets beyond the two wells that have flowed gas in the past."
"Vintage is looking forward to working with Comet Ridge to help discover, appraise and develop commercial volumes of gas to help ease the stress within the East coast gas market."
"Vintage has also recently acquired an interest in gas exploration assets in the onshore South Australian Otway Basin and will shortly complete a series of other transactions ahead of a planned Initial Public Offering early in 2018."
Comet Ridge Managing Director, Tor McCaul, said he was extremely pleased to welcome the petroleum pedigree that Vintage brings to the Galilee Basin. He said their decades of onshore experience enabled Vintage to recognise the significant potential in the Sandstone sequence in the eastern Galilee Basin and the major part it could play in the supply story for the eastern Australian gas market. This transaction is a key step in unlocking significant value potential from the Galilee Basin.
