Bass gets Auz suspension, extension

Australia’s National Offshore Titles Authority (NOPTA) granted Bass Strait Oil Co. a 12-month suspension and extension for the work program and permit term or its 100% owned and operated VIC/P68 permit offshore Australia. 

Map of Vic/P68. From Bass Strait Oil.

The Vic/P68 exploration permit, which covers 1074sq km lies to the west of Vic/41, in the northeast part of the Gippsland Basin. It covers parts of the Central Deep, Northern Terrace and Northern Platform, with water depths increasing from 50-150m towards the southeast.

The permit is currently in Year 3 of the six-year term. The Year 3 work program, which entails acquiring 225sq km of 3D seismic, now expires 3 November 2016.

Bass had sought the variation of the work program for this permit to allow an aggregation of seismic work with other operators to reduce the cost of the survey and for the survey to occur in the normal summer acquisition window offshore southern Australia.

The Bass technical team is nearing completion of its technical review quantifying the prospectivity of the company’s Gippsland basin permits. Importantly, the continuing process has identified a significant gas exploration play in VIC/P68 within the Emperor Formation, which is similar to and on trend with the Longtom gas field.

Furthermore, Bass has identified a number of follow up oil targets on trend with Bass’s wholly owned Leatherjacket oil discovery contained within the VIC/P68 permit.

Leatherjacket was drilled by Esso in 1986 and discovered an oil column of over 25m in the highly productive upper LaTrobe group.

“The grant of the work program extension not only reduces the company's near term funding obligations, but provides the opportunity to mature these play types, prospects and leads which are likely to attract interest from potential farminees wanting low risk and lower cost opportunities to enter the east coast gas market,” Bass Strait Oil executive director Tino Guglielmo, said. “The company remains of the view that its asset position in the Gippsland basin will become increasingly more relevant as the evaluation of the portfolio continues and domestic markets for east coast gas, in particular, seeks new and emerging gas prospects close to markets.”