SYDNEY: Orion Petroleum Limited (ASX: OIP) today said that drilling of coal seam gas (CSG) coreholes in PEL 427 and 428 in northern NSW is expected to commence in February 2009. This Surat-Bowen Basin drilling program is part of Orion’s Stage 1 CSG farm-out to Eastern Star Gas. Drilling will start with the Moree-4 corehole in PEL 427, followed immediately by the Kurrabooma-1 corehole in PEL 428. Eastern Star Gas has contracted the McDermott Rig 27 to carry out drilling operations, which are expected to take at least six weeks. The corehole drilling program marks the start of joint venture investigations into the CSG resource potential of the Surat-Bowen Basin in New South Wales. The Moree-1 corehole will investigate whether thick coal units intersected in the Edgeroi-1 well immediately to the south in PEL 238, extend northwards into PEL 427. This work will be carried out around the same time as acquisition of CSG-defining farm-out seismic in PEL 6, which will be followed later in the year with the drilling of a third farm-out corehole, in PEL 6.
OIP Price at posting:
6.6¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
