Key Petroleum Ltd., Perth, has reported completion of its acquisition from Sydney-based AWE Ltd. (now a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co. Ltd.) of production license L7 (R1) in the onshore North Perth basin of Western Australia (OGJ Online, June 30, 2017). The permit contains Mount Horner oil field, which Key now intends to rehabilitate.
The company says Mount Horner has a proved, producible oil pool along with material exploration upside particularly south of Mount Horner-6 well, which is the southernmost well in the field.
Key has previously remapped the northern part of the Perth basin and has identified prospectivity along trend from the field as well as a downdip Permian and Triassic-age prospect at Becos in its adjoining permit EP437.
Key said AWE has paid an exit payment of $380,000 (Aus.). The deal also includes a provision for AWE to reimburse Key for rehabilitation costs in L7 up to $1.9 million (Aus.). Key has also assumed operatorship.
Mount Horner was first discovered in 1965 by private firm West Australian Petroleum Pty. Ltd. but did not start production until May 1984. The field was rehabilitated by Arc Energy Ltd. in 2007 and continued to flow at around 70 b/d before again being shut in.
Key says Mount Horner has produced a total of 1.7 million barrels of 37.6° API oil so far, mostly from a Jurassic-age reservoir. The company believes there is upside in relatively untried Permian and Triassic sands.
