Carnarvon Petroleum increases interest in Belgravia prospect off WA

Carnarvon Petroleum Ltd., Perth, increased its interest in offshore Barrow subbasin exploration permit WA-155-P off Western Australia to 70% from 28% and is now operator of what it calls the Outtrim project. Interest was acquired from Skye Exploration.

The permit is split into three separate areas, each containing a top-Triassic Mungaroo gas prospect - Belgravia, Belgravia East, and Palmerston. Belgravia and Belgravia East are on trend with gas discovery Swell-1 to the north, made by Woodside Petroleum Ltd. and Kufpec in 2018.

While the 450 m-thick reservoir sands at Swell were tight, the presence of gas confirms the presence of a working petroleum system over a large hydrocarbon column just 20 km from Belgravia, the company said.

Mapping indicates the crest of Belgravia structure is updip from Swell-1 and about 650 m shallower than the Swell structure. Consequently, Carnarvon hopes for better reservoir quality than the Woodside/Kufpec find.

Carnarvon believes the Belgravia prospect could be part of a much larger structure it calls JBS that encompasses the Jurabi feature in the south which also found gas in tight sands, Belgravia in the middle, and Swell to the north. The company is working to determine the likelihood of improved porosity in the Belgravia region similar to other commercial discoveries in the region including Macedon field.