WA-488-P Beehive Work Program Approval
Tuesday 4 September 2018
Highlights:
- Regulator grants approval of application to suspend deadline for completion of current permit year’s work program to support potential drilling of first exploration well in the WA-488-P Permit
- Beehive 3D Seismic Survey recently completed
- Total and/or Santos each have option to drill first well in permit
- If Total and/or Santos exercises options to drill, Melbana retains 20% and is fully carried
- Giant Beehive Prospect assessed by Independent Expert McDaniel & Associates to contain a best estimate prospective resource of 388 million barrels of oil equivalent, one of the largest undrilled hydrocarbon prospects in Australia
Melbana Energy Limited advised that it has received notice from the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) of the approval of its application to suspend the deadline for completion of the current WA-488-P permit year work obligations by 15 months to 21 December 2020.
The notification from NOPTA follows the recent completion of the Beehive 3D Seismic Survey and the previously announced crediting of the survey against the future permit year 4 work program obligation.
Total and Santos have an option (exercisable together or individually) to acquire a direct 80% participating interest in the permit in return for continuing to fully fund the costs of all activities until completion of the first well in the WA-488-P permit. The option is exercisable by either Total or Santos at any time but no later than 6 months from the receipt of processed seismic survey data.