Australian oil and gas company Melbana Energy has been granted petroleum exploration permit AC/P70, located in the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands, for an initial period of six years.
Melbana made an application for this permit under the Australian Government’s 2020 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release.
The offshore block contains the undeveloped Vesta-1 oil discovery drilled in 2005. The Vesta-2 appraisal well drilled in 2007 identified a gas cap.
"This complex field is an attractive opportunity to a junior explorer like Melbana with the technical capability and track record of identifying new play types and attracting large, well-funded, partners to test its exploration theses – often by overturning conventional thinking," Melbana said.
Melbana Energy’s Executive Chairman, Andrew Purcell, said: “Our experience in this sub-basin coupled with the previous discoveries and multiple data sets and play types offered in this permit area affords a good opportunity for a technically strong and motivated junior like Melbana to try and identify its next substantial exploration prospect in Australian waters. Our track record gives us some insights into what the market is looking for and we believe demand for more such opportunities will likely remain buoyant, especially if the current oil price is maintained."