Falcon Oil & Gas partner identifies potential in Australian shale project

Falcon Oil & Gas’s partner company Origin Energy presented a technical paper outlining the potential of the duo’s projects in the Australian Beetaloo sub-basin area.

The presentation at the Australia Exploration Geoscience Conference in Sydney, identified two zones at the Beetaloo W-1 well which Origin saw as particularly advantageous for the eventual production of commercial shale gas.

Origins’ favoured of the two source rock reservoir (SRR) intervals is the lower Kyalla SRR, which it said could be conducive to successful hydraulic fracture stimulation and is likely to be wet gas which could also improve the economics of the project considerably.

The company’s findings also reported that a successful lower Kyalla SRR test could lead to a ‘stacked’ play development with the middle Velkerri SRR which “could result in significant cost savings and an optimised surface footprint.”

Philip O’Quigley, chief executive of Falcon, said: “Today's announcement is encouraging and follows the February 2017 discovery evaluation report publication on the existence of a material gas resource in the middle Velkerri formation. We look forward to the final report from the scientific inquiry into hydraulic fracturing due to be published in March and the Northern Territory Government's response to the final report before determining the forward exploration / appraisal program.”

Headquartered in Dublin, Falcon Oil & Gas seeks to use its expertise of the unconventional oil and gas industry to acquire and develop licences, and to expand its international portfolio which contains interests in Australia, South Africa and Hungary.

As of 1642 GMT, Falcon’s shares were up 10.29% at 16.88p.