REG - Empyrean Energy PLC - Participation option in the Wilson River prospect

Empyrean EnergyAnnouncement

23/01/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 4356U  Empyrean Energy PLC  23 January 2025

 

23 January 2025

 
This announcement contains inside information

 

Empyrean Energy PLC / Index: AIM / Epic: EME / Sector: Oil & Gas

 

Empyrean Energy PLC ('Empyrean' or 'the Company')

Acquisition of option to participate in Wilson River conventional oil
prospect, Australia

 

Empyrean Energy plc ("Empyrean" or the "Company"), the oil and gas development
company with interests in Australia, Indonesia and the United States, is
pleased to announce that, further to the announcement on 6 November 2024, it
has successfully completed the acquisition of an option to participate in a
conventional oil exploration project (the "Wilson River prospect") from Apnea
Holdings Pty Ltd ("Apnea").

 

The Wilson River prospect is situated close to existing infrastructure in the
prolific Cooper Basin in South West Queensland, Australia, and adjacent to
several producing oil fields operated by Santos-Beach (Cooper Basin JV) and
Bridgeport Energy.

 

The Wilson River prospect lies within lease ATP 1173 and is being prepared for
near-term drilling once final surveys are complete and permits granted.
Material progress has been made since November 2024 to progress the pre-drill
preparations including finalisation of well design, testing and completion
protocols, long lead item procurement, rig service guarantee payment, land
access agreement and commencement of required surveys. The Wilson River
prospect has multiple stacked reservoir targets, lies within a NW to SE oil
migration pathway and shares similar structural orientation and features to
fields immediately NW of the prospect.

 

Based on current rig availability, and subject to the completion of surveys
and permitting, the well is scheduled to be drilled in March 2025.

 

The Wilson River prospect has been mapped with a combination of 2D and 3D
seismic and has estimated prospective oil in place in the range of 8.7MMBOE to
37.4MMBOE with a mean of 21.3MMBOE. Nearby fields have recovery factors in the
more prolific formations of up to 59 percent, depending on a range of factors
including reservoir quality.

 

The Option allows Empyrean to earn a minimum 40 per cent. Working Interest in
the permit by paying two-thirds of the gross cost of drilling an exploration
well at the Wilson River prospect, estimated at approximately AUD$2.8m
(gross). Apnea previously entered a binding agreement to jointly fund the
drilling of the Wilson River 1 well with Condor Energy Services Limited
("Condor Energy"), an experienced Australian based well services and drilling
company with recent drilling contracts completed nearby in the Cooper Basin.
Empyrean and Condor Energy will become Joint Venture partners with the current
leaseholder of ATP1173, Chi Oil and Gas Pty Ltd ("Chi Oil"), and will earn
into the project by funding the Wilson River 1 well. Under the agreement,
Condor Energy will fund the balance of costs to drill the Wilson River 1 well.
 Chi Oil and Empyrean have negotiated a competitive fixed price agreement
with Condor Energy to drill and test the well based on an Authority For
Expenditure ("AFE") that formed part of the binding agreement to jointly fund
the Wilson River 1 well. Chi Oil and Empyrean are currently finalising the
drilling contract with Condor Energy along with a definitive Farm In Agreement
and Joint Operating Agreement.

 

Related Party Transaction

Apnea is a company wholly owned by Thomas Kelly, Managing Director of
Empyrean, and the acquisition of the Option therefore constitutes a related
party transaction pursuant to Rule 13 of the AIM Rules for Companies. Under
the terms of the acquisition of the Option, Apnea will receive consideration
in the form of new ordinary shares in Empyrean representing 5 per cent. of the
enlarged issued capital of Empyrean at the time, but only in the event that
the Wilson prospect is declared a commercial discovery. The Company's
independent Directors (Gaz Bisht, John Laycock and Patrick Cross) consider,
having consulted with the Company's nominated adviser, Cavendish, that the
terms of the acquisition are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's
shareholders are concerned.

 

Empyrean Technical Director, Gaz Bisht commented, "Empyrean is pleased to have
secured the opportunity to drill this exciting conventional oil target nearby
to existing Santos-Beach and Bridgeport discoveries. Empyrean is also excited
to be working alongside the Chi Oil and Condor Energy teams to plan for and
execute this upcoming drilling program. Empyrean is encouraged by the fact
that Condor Energy are prepared to put equity on the line and take a direct
participating interest in the Wilson River 1 well."

 

The information in this announcement has been reviewed by Empyrean's technical
director Gaz Bisht, who has over 33 years experience as a hydrocarbon
geologist and geophysicist.

 

For further information please visit www.empyreanenergy.com
(http://www.empyreanenergy.com/)  or contact the following:

 

 Empyrean Energy plc                                               Tel: +61 (8) 6146 5325
 Tom Kelly

 Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Nominated Advisor and Broker)  Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 0500
 Neil McDonald

 Pearl Kellie

 Novum Securities Limited (Joint Broker)                           Tel: +44 (0) 207 399 9400
 Colin Rowbury

 

 

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