Project Profile
Location: South West of Sydney
Area: 285km2 (Gross)
Contingent Reosurces: 1.6 tcf of gas (in-place)
PEL 454 is located South West of Sydney. PEL 454 encompasses nine abandoned coal mines in the area and some additional areas.
PEL 454 (Burragorang) was granted in March 2007 by the Government of NSW.
Very little work has been done on coal seam gas in this part of the Sydney Basin. What little data is available from the area shows that gas from nearby mines has an extremely strong biogenic signature. Coal seam gas production in nearby permits PEL 2 and PPL 1 are also mostly biogenic gas.
Ormil is earning up to a 50% stake in the licence through a farm-in agreement with fellow Australian company Apex Energy.
In February, the consortium spudded a coalbed methane (CBM) well in PEL 454 in the Australian state of New South Wales. The Apex Burragorang DDH-1 well is being drilled to depth of about 560 metres to test Illawarra coal measures on the western flank of the Sydney basin. An independent assessment of PEL 454 by MHA Petroleum Consultants placed the high estimate of contingent resources within the 168 kilometre licence at 1.6 trillion cubic feet of gas in place.
In April 2012, WellDog completed permeability tests on PEL 454, providing the operators with detailed subsurface reservoir data on permeability and producibility of four coal seams that were intersected by the Apex Burragorang DDH1 well. Ormil Energy was later rebranded Magnus Gas & Power Ltd before relinquishing the PEL 454 licence back to the government of New South Wales government at a loss. Magnus blamed the introduction of new restrictions by the state government on unconventional gas development, which it said came despite research finding that the technology could be deployed safely. APEX also exited the licence at the same time.
Operators:
Apex Energy: Operator with 50% interest
Ormil: 50% interest
Contractors:
MHA Petroleum Consultants: Independent assessment