Project Profile
Location: Galilee Basin, central west Queensland state, Australia
3C Resource: 838 PJ
Area: 4,158 km²
Maximum drilling depth: 1,300 metres
Start-up Year: -
ATP 813P permit area is located in the Galilee Basin in central west Queensland in Australia and covers a large area of 4,158 km². The Galilee Basin is lacking in gas infrastructure and for this reason there has been little incentive in the past to explore for conventional gas. Previous exploration occurred in the 1970\'s and 80\'s for conventional oil and more recently through Enron and later Galilee Energy for Coal Seam Gas potential. The main CSG play in the Galilee Basin is the Late Permian Betts Creek Coal Measures which are the time equivalent coal measures of the Bandanna and Rangal Coal Measures of the Bowen Basin and the Toolachee Formation of the Cooper Basin. Blue Energy’s Galilee Basin tenement occupies a central position in the Galilee Basin. The Betts Creek sequence has also been targeted by coal exploration companies to the east, where the sequence outcrops, and several significant export coal mining operations are proposed. Following the encouraging results of the Carolina 1 well drilled in 2008, Blue Energy embarked on an expanded CSG exploration program to assess the potential of the Late Permian sequence. Accordingly, Blue Energy drilled four CSG coreholes during the year across the southern portion of the permit.
The Kanaka 1 well spudded December 2009 and drilled to a total depth of 1,300 metres. The well intersected the top of the Betts Creek Coal Measure at approximately 976 metres. A total of 26.7 metres of net coal was intersected in the Betts Creek and Aramac Coal Measures. Coal sampling and desorption testing has yielded gas content values between 4 – 6m3/tonne (dry ash free), in line with expectations. Extensive flooding across the Galilee Basin occurred in early January 2010 and severely restricted operations in the area until February 2010. Following Kanaka 1, the Stainburn Downs 1 corehole was drilled to the south west of Kanaka 1. The well intersected a total of 20.5 metres of net coal, again mostly in the Betts Creek Coal Measures, which displayed gas contents in the 4-6m3/tonne (dry ash free) range. Similarly, the Myross spudded in February 2010 and encountered 17.8 metres of net coal. As with the other wells, Myross fully cored the Late Permian sequence. The latest well in the initial exploration phase was the Ballyneety 1 well. This well was the eastern most well in the initial exploration phase and reached a total depth of 1,008 metres in the Jochumus Formation. Net coal of 12.3 metres was intersected in the Betts Creek and Aramac Coal Measures. Gas content is averaged at 3m3/t dry ash free (DAF). Data from this initial exploration phase has been assessed and an initial resource estimate has been made by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. (NSAI).
Operators:
Blue Energy Limited: Operator with 100% interest
Contractors:
Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. (NSAI): Provider of the resource estimate report