Cooper Energy discovers new gas field off the Victorian coast
Cooper Energy has discovered a new gas field in the Otway Basin off the coast of Victoria, the first found in the basin in more than ten years.
The company said the exploration well Annie-1 made the discovery on September 4 with the well reaching a total depth of 2,442 metres.
The company's managing director David Maxwell said the discovery was a promising sign for the company.
“We are very pleased with the success at Annie, it is very encouraging for future exploration in the
offshore Otway Basin and for our strategy to build gas production around the hub of the existing Minerva Gas Plan," Mr Maxwell said in an ASX statement.
The drilling project is the first offshore gas exploration Cooper Energy has drilled in Australia and the first of an $80 million joint venture drilling campaign with Mitsui.
"In the coming months, we will complete the subsurface assessments and analysis of data to
refine our estimates of the field size and to inform decisions regarding field development," Mr Maxwell said.
The company's share's jumped 10.3 per cent to $0.645 in morning trading on the back of the announcement, making the company the best performer on the S&P/ASX 200 in early trade.
Royal Bank of Canada oil & gas analyst Ben Wilson said in a note to investors the company had recently upgraded Cooper Energy to a "outperform rating" compared to the sector average over the coming 12 months based on the development of the Sole gas field in the Gippsland Basin.
"First up success from the Otway exploration campaign strengthens our conviction on Cooper," the note said.
Annie-1 is located about nine kilometres off the Victorian coastline. The field is located between the Henry gas field and the Minerva gas plant.