Pilot Energy Ltd., Sydney, has farmed out a 50% interest in its two onshore South Perth basin permits in Western Australia to Advanced Energy Transition Pty Ltd. (AET) in exchange for the drilling of an exploration well in the Leschenault prospect.
AET will fully fund the wildcat in the large gas prospect which trends north-south through Pilot’s EP 480 and EP 416 permits near the Kwinana industrial hub and the Dampier-Bunbury gas pipeline.
Leschenault is mapped on existing 2D seismic as a large faulted anticlinal structure with an areal closure of 240 sq km at the top of the Permian Sue Group sandstones.
The permits have been sparsely explored with only two wells drilled in the 1960s. Four wells were drilled by the Western Australian government in 2012-2015 (Harvey 1-4) as part of a carbon sequestration study to assess potential of basin for the South West Hub Carbon Capture and Storage project.
The limited drilling confirmed the presence of Permian petroleum system, the primary target being the Permian-age Sue Group sandstones and the Triassic-age Leseur sandstones. Reservoir targets lie at a depth of 2,250-2,500 m. Gas has been generated from mature Permian coal measures within the two permits with the Leschenault prospect located up-dip of these possible gas kitchens on the flank of the regional gravity high.
The prospect has been independently assessed to hold a best estimate prospective resource of 725 bcf to 1.6 tcf of gas.
Leschenault-1 also will assess the suitability of the reservoirs for carbon sequestration. The well is expected to spud within the next 12 months.
