Pilot Energy holds an 60% working interest, as Operator, in exploration permit WA-481-P, located within the offshore extension of the Northern Perth Basin.

WA-481-P covers a very large area over the offshore extension of the Northern Perth Basin, on trend with numerous oil and gas discoveries. The primary petroleum plays are for oil and/or gas within the Dongara Sandstone and the Irwin River Coal Measures. Both oil and gas are proven within the permit, with the Frankland gas and the Dunsborough oil discoveries representing 2C contingent resources of 41.6 Bcf gas and 6.0 MMbbls oil respectively.

WA-481-P is well covered by both 3D and 2D seismic data, which confirms the presence of fourteen structural prospects across a variety of geological plays, three of which have been identified as priority targets for future exploration.

The Frankland gas play lies on trend with the Frankland-1 gas discovery, which has estimated 2C contingent resources of 41.6 Bcf gas. Three further structures are located to the northeast of Frankland-1, offering the potential to increase the resource base to above the minimum economic limit – estimated by Pilot Energy to be 60 Bcf gas at a gas sales price of A$6.50 per mmbtu. Importantly this play has been largely de-risked by the Frankland-1 well, and the Company will review the recently completed seismic inversion study of the Diana 3D data in order to further de-risk the prospects. In the event of future exploration success, commercialisation of two or more fields could occur as a hub, tied back to the onshore Dongara gas facility, located some 20km to the east.

The Cliff Head South play incorporates two structural prospects, both of which lie to the south and west of the Cliff Head oil field. These prospects are of a comparable size to Cliff Head itself and are situated between Cliff Head and the hydrocarbon source kitchen to the west. The oil within Cliff Head would have migrated directly through this area, resulting in a high probability for oil charge in to the prospects. While the prospects are large, even a small discovery could likely be developed, by tying back to the Cliff Head offshore facility approximately 10km to the northeast.

Finally, the Leander Reef area offers potential for very large accumulations of oil. Three large structures exist to the west of Cliff Head, with a total Best estimate Prospective Resource across the 3 structures of 98 MMbbls. While the Leander Reef-1 well was drilled in the area in 1983, the structures remain untested. This is due to the fact that the well intersected a fault at a location where the Dongara reservoir target has been “faulted out” -  i.e. reservoir was absent due to movement on the fault. However oil and gas shows were encountered by the well, and while currently higher risk than the Frankland and Cliff Head plays, the Leander Reef area warrants further study as a possible future drilling target due to the huge upside potential.

The joint venture interests in WA –481-P are as follows: