LNG

Feb 28 (LNGJ) - Strike Energy, the Australian exploration and production company in the onshore Perth Basin of Western Australia, noted in its latest earnings that energy players were awaiting a decision on whether the state would be banning the export of onshore gas as LNG amid forecasts of a shortage of domestic gas in the coming years.

   Strike Energy said that the natural gas warnings came as 2023 was deemed the worst year for gas exploration activities in the state of WA for the last 25 years. Strike said that its Walyering gas field in the Perth Basin started production in the fiscal first quarter with gas and condensate generating A$8.13 million (US$5.32M) in revenue for the company. WA state spot natural gas prices were relatively stable at an average of the equivalent of around US$6.20 per million British thermal units during the period.

Warrego Energy Ltd, the Australian oil and gas explorer with natural gas assets in the onshore Perth Basin, said its board's recommendation of a takeover by a subsidiary of Hancock Prospecting Ltd. was no longer unanimous following a revised proposal from Australia’s Strike Energy amid an intense Australian company bid battle.

Two Australian exploration and production companies, Talon Energy and Strike Energy, have signed an agreement to supply LNG exporter Santos with natural gas for the domestic market from their Walyering gas field in the Perth Basin of Western Australia.

The Australian emerging natural gas producer Warrego Energy said the appraisal campaign near the West Erregulla gas discovery in the onshore Perth Basin was continuing with initial positive reports from drilling.

Warrego has already signed a deal with Alcoa of Australia, operator of one of the world's largest integrated bauxite mining operation, for volumes from the West Erregulla gas field discovery made in 2019.

Alcoa operates three alumina refineries, the Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup plants in Western Australia, along with two bauxite mines.

Warrego has a 50-50 joint venture partner in Strike Energy.

The Warrego and Strike Energy West Erregulla concession forms part of a triangle between Mitsui’s & Co.’s Waitsia wells and Beach Energy’s Beharra Springs Deep.

The Waitsia well’s owners, Mitsui and Beach Energy, have already signed a liquefaction tolling agreement for LNG with partners at the Woodside-operated North West Shelf export plant.

The Warrego-Strike joint venture’s main discovery, the West Erregulla-2 well, had been drilled to a total depth of 5,100 metres, the deepest well drilled in onshore Australia, and flow tests achieved a world-class maximum flow rate of 69 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.

Strike Energy, as operator, provided a drilling update on May 17 on the current West Erregulla appraisal campaign.

“The WE-4 well flow testing continued with the well cleaning up and with favourable pressures measured,” said the Strike report provided to the Australian Securities Exchange by Warrego.

The report said the production testing was now in the clean-up phase and pressure conditions on initial flows at WE-4 are similar to the successful WE-2 well.

The result has been labelled “favourable” and the report said the high reservoir quality at WE-4 has been confirmed by core results.

“These results show permeability up to 430 metres in the depth of the well and porosity of up to 19.9 percent in the Kingia Sandstones,” the report explained.

Along with the WE-4 update, the joint venture said it had landed and cemented the surface casing string at WE-5, with drilling now at 2,785 metres measured depth (MD).

Warrego previously noted that any increase in West Erregulla’s certified resources would be welcomed by the market, and further success would add considerably to the current gross contingent resources.