Whitebark Takes Control of Warro
Flexibility to progress up to 11.6 tcf1 field
Whitebark Energy (ASX : WBE) is pleased to announce the return to full ownership of the Warro Gas Discovery, 200km North East of Perth.
- Alcoa Australia has agreed to relinquish its 43% interest earned in the Warro assets.
- This will allow Whitebark greater ability and flexibility to progress the assets once the current fracking moratorium in WA ends.
- Opportunity for offtake agreement with Alcoa remains.
- Non-core permits and licenses relinquished as part of a focus on the core resources in Retention Lease 7 (RL7).
| The Warro partnership between Whitebark (and its predecessors and subsidiaries) and Alcoa has spanned a decade, including the drilling of four wells and the acquisition of 90km2 of 3D seismic. “Alcoa has been an excellent partner during this period and the advancement of the Warro project would not have occurred without their ongoing support during the period of the Joint Venture,” said Whitebark Managing Director David Messina. As part of the transfer Alcoa has agreed to provide future funding to cover its share of plug and abandonment liabilities in the event any of the wells are not used in future development scenarios. RL7, on which Warro sits, is currently in suspension pending the completion of the WA Government fracking inquiry. The holding costs for the lease are modest and all near term work commitments have been met, giving Whitebark significant time to determine how the asset may be advanced to maximise its future potential. “The impact of the moratorium on the project has significantly hampered the Joint Venture’s ability to continue with development activities,” Mr Messina said. “As the industry lies dormant awaiting the official findings and recommendations, the decision has been made to relinquish the permits outside of the Warro core field resources, namely EP321 and RL-6 and concentrate on RL7.” |
Warro Project Background
The Warro field lies 200km north of Perth in the Perth Basin and is one of the largest undeveloped onshore gas fields in Australia. The Warro reservoir section is about 3,750m below surface and has a thickness of approximately 500m. The gas is held within low porosity and low permeability Jurassic sandstones. The field is located 31km east of both the Dampier-to-Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline and the Dongara-to-Perth Parmelia Pipeline.
In 2008, Latent Petroleum Pty Ltd (now a wholly owned subsidiary of WBE) entered into $100m partnership with Alcoa of Australia to fund the exploration of the Warro gas field.
The completion of wells Warro-3 to Warro-6 and subsequent testing have provided valuable information and insight of the Warro field. Results of these wells and the 3D seismic continue to be analysed to determine the best way forward for the project and proving the field commercial.
| Latent Petroleum, as operator of the Warro Project, remains confident that the results of the moratorium will find in favour of the fracture stimulation process under a strong regulatory regime. Latent is also very proud of the company’s implementation of environmental monitoring from the inception of our activities in 2008 and continued to expand this over the next ten years. The company is confident that many of the expected guidelines are already in place at Warro. |
Industry pays C$33 million for Duvernay Shale Oil Acreage surrounding Whitebark Lands
Increasing interest in emerging Duvernay Shale Oil Play in Canada
Whitebark Energy Limited (ASX : WBE) (the “Company” or “Whitebark”) is pleased to provide an update on recent transaction activity in the emerging Duvernay shale oil play. Whitebark currently has a 20% interest in approximately 19,000 gross acres (3,800 net acres or approx. 6 net sections) in the West Duvernay Basin with Point Loma Resources as part of its Point Loma Joint Venture (PLJV) holdings.
The May 30th Alberta land sale by the Alberta Government recorded increased transaction activity attracting C$42m of sales with the majority of the acreage posted within the West Duvernay shale oil basin. Several large parcels of land, with a combined acreage of 82,920 acres, and located just to the southeast of Point Loma Joint Venture (PLJV) lands (Figure 1), were acquired for C$33.3 million or an average price of C$347/acre
The Duvernay shale is an emerging oil play which continues to attract increasing industry activity and attention, with an estimated 150 horizontal oil wells drilled mostly in the East Duvernay Basin. An analysis by Point Loma of technical data from the West Duvernay Basin indicates similar reservoir characteristics to the East Duvernay Basin, where contingent resources of 10 to 15 million barrels per section of original oil in place have been stated by other operators.
Point Loma’s analysis shows that the West Duvernay Basin shale has a thickness of approximately 10 to 15 metres, with porosities ranging from 3 to 10% and TOC’s in the range of 2% to 10% which are parameters comparable to other successful North American shale plays and those seen in the East Duvernay Basin.
Three horizontal Duvernay shale oil wells have been drilled by other operators to date in 2018 within Whitebark’s core area of operations at Paddle River. The results of these wells have not yet been publicly disclosed.
Whitebark’s Managing Director, David Messina said “Increased sales is another clear sign of increasing activity and interest in the Canadian oil space, and Whitebark is well positioned to benefit. The Point Loma Joint Venture is reviewing alternatives to unlock shareholder value from its Duvernay shale holdings.”
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Whitebark Energy Operations Update
3D Program Identifies Material New Oil Targets in Canada Current Whitebark Production approx. 400boe/d
Highlights
- Westcove 3D program identifies new drilling targets with potential for over 40 mmboe in place (gross):
- Ostracod Liquids Play 10 mmboe in place (2 mmboe net to WBE);
- Nordegg Liquids field extension 12 mmboe in place (2.4 mmboe net to WBE);
- Banff Oil Play 20 mmbbls in place in two features (4 mmbbls net to WBE).
- Thornbury Project Stage 1 completed, 750mmcf/d gross now being processed through 100% owned gas facility.
- Operating Costs improve to circa $15/boe with scale and further improvements forecast with cost control measures adopted.
Whitebark Energy Ltd (ASX: WBE) (“Whitebark” or “the Company”) is pleased to provide an update on its Canadian Operations. The Company’s Point Loma Joint Venture (PLJV) undertook a 3D Seismic Program in Q1 2018 in the Westcove area and the data have now been processed and the interpretation of the results is underway.
The program identified significant new drilling targets with potential for over 40 mmboe in place adjacent to the PLJV’s Paddle River oil field.
“Finding significant new oil targets with today’s oil price adds significant value to the company.” said David Messina, Managing Director of WBE. “We will be factoring the result of the 3D into our drilling program with the potential to test the play in 2018.”
PLJV 3D Seismic Program Identifies New Oil Targets
The main objective of the 3D program was to define the extent of the Nordegg oil accumulation being produced by horizontal well 5-31 and provide guidance on the optimal location and direction for a planned Nordegg horizontal development well. A secondary objective was to delineate the extent of an underlying Banff Oil play in the surrounding area and in an area in the NW portion of the survey around well 8-11.
Not only has the 3D delivered valuable information on these objectives but it has also identified a potential Ostracod oil pool which appears to be analogous to the adjacent PLJV Paddle River oil field (Figures 1 and 2).
As shown in Figure 2, the Nordegg pool is currently being produced from well 5-31. The 3D has defined the areal extent of the accumulation around this well and to the north and west and suggests the potential for further development wells.
In the NW part of the 3D (Figure 2), the data indicates a Banff level closure associated with a seismic anomaly which is usually associated with a thickening of the reservoir unit (see Figure 1 and 2). Importantly, well 8-11, which drilled through the feature, appears to contain by-passed pay at the Banff level with the unit yielding high gas readings, strong oil related fluorescence and indications of pay on the electric logs.
To the west of the Westcove 3D area, the PLJV operates the Paddle River Ostracod oil field which is held in a stratigraphic trap formed by the reservoir unit pinching out updip within a paleo valley. The 3D has identified an analogous configuration within the Westcove area (Figure 2). The presence of a low area with a seismic thickening at the Ostracod level suggests the potential for an oil accumulation akin to Paddle River field.
Gilby Acquisition Completed
Highlights:
- Acquisition closed on 30 April 2018 with the final payment of CAN$143,965.81, taking WBE’s total cost of the acqusition to CAN$333,965.81.
- Increases daily production by approx. 60% (~135 boe/d net to Whitebark, 35% oil and NGL’s and 65% natural gas).
- Approximately 29,000 gross acres of land, including 1100 acres with Duvernay rights.
- Identified drilling locations with multizone opportunities.
Whitebark Energy Ltd (ASX: WBE) (“Whitebark” or “the Company”) is pleased to confirm the close of the Gilby acquisition announced on 21 March 2018 with final payments completed in Calgary, Canada on 30 April 2018.
“The addition to Whitebark of 30% of Gilby has provided a significant increase in the company’s daily production and revenue. Achieving the closure of this first acquisition for 2018 also increases the Point Loma Joint Venture’s (PLJV) development opportunities moving through the second half of the year,” said Whitebark Energy Managing Director David Messina.
Figure 1 demonstrates the significant uplift to net production for WBE based on the latest available figures from the Gilby project area of which Whitebark owns 30%.
In addition to the production upside, the Gilby acquisition comprises 29,000 gross acres of land and associated facilities and is adjacent to the PLJV’s existing landholdings. The assets include substantial upside potential with booked Proved and Probable undeveloped reserves as well as numerous exploration locations with multi-zone potential across the Mannville, Cardium and Duvernay zones.1