About Bass Strait Oil CompanyStrategy and HistoryBass Strait Oil Company was awarded its first Gippsland Basin permit in 1998 and was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2004 (ASX code: BAS). The Company has a clear exploration focus on the prolific southeast Australia region and is lead by experienced industry professionals. From its Melbourne base, the Company has consistently maintained a hands-on, technically-based focus on the region. It has built a permit portfolio that comprises approximately 14,000 sq km across six offshore and two onshore permits in the productive Gippsland, Bass and Otway Basins.
Bass Strait Oil Company's strategic focus is based on the prospectivity of these productive southeast Australia basins. The drivers for this include; access to prospects of material scale in world-class basins, a database of modern 3D seismic data defining new targets and play types, regional infrastructure and market development, the benefits of Australia's stable low-cost jurisdiction and the fundamental long-term value of oil and gas resources.
Across its permit portfolio, BAS seeks to retain operatorship of its joint ventures (currently 7 of 8 permits) and typically holds large permit interests. This approach tends to optimise the benefits of hands-on operational experience and the control of exploration direction, as well as to maximise the Company's leverage to potential success.
BAS has safely operated the drilling of a total of five offshore wells since 2001 and operated, or participated in, a number of 2D and 3D seismic surveys. Two of the Company's wells were non-commercial hydrocarbon discoveries: gas at Moby-1 in 2004 and gas/condensate at ZaneGrey-1 in 2005.
BAS has also continually invested in seismic data and modern exploration technologies allowing it to assemble an extensive database, including over 7,000 sq km of 3D seismic in the offshore Gippsland Basin. All of this 3D data has been acquired since 2001, adding significant value to the Company's acreage position and underpinning the Company's exploration programme.
Exploration OutlookGippsland Basin The company holds interests in four offshore permits in the Gippsland Basin. Vic/P41, Vic/P47 and Vic/P66 form the focus of the Golden Beach and Emperor plays on the Northern Terrace of the basin. Bass has 2 discoveries in these permits; the Judith and Moby gas fields. In addition the Zane Grey and Omeo gas/condensate fields are held in Vic/P42. The company is focussed on commercialising the largest of these discoveries, the Judith Field, which has certified contingent resources of 194 BCF (2C) and 934 BCF (3C). To this end the company is in negotiations with several exploration companies as to the appraisal and development of this field and the associated prospective resources nearby. Recent simultaneous (AVO) inversion of the Oscar, Moby and part of the Northern Fields 3D seismic surveys has highgraded several prospects in this area as well as more clearly defining the extent of the Moby and Judith fields. Vic/P41 has just been renewed for a further 5 year term and Vic/P66 received authority, this week, to suspend permit obligations for 1 year in order to allow the acquisition of a 3D seismic survey over Lead A jointly with the Vic/P41 Joint Venture. This survey will likely occur towards the end of 2012. Otway Basin The focus of exploration over the past 5 years (the initial permit term) has been on the Heathfield sandstone play. This is a volcanogenic sandstone that is restricted in its areal extent to the central part of PEP 167. The company acquired a 3D seismic survey in the area and has now completed the drilling of Windermere-3 to test that play. The preliminary results of the drilling have indicated the Heathfield reservoir is extremely variable in its makeup, very tight and although oil, generated from deeper in the basin, has migrated into the area it is difficult to predict where it will pool. Further exploration of the play is, therefore, warranted but will need to be focused on determining what controls the permeability of the reservoir and how to interpret where the more commercially productive areas are. There are, however, two other play types in PEP 167 and surrounding areas. The first, focussed in the southeast of the permit, is the Waarre play which has yielded the major gas fields both onshore and offshore to the east. Whilst the second is the unconventional Laira and Casterton oil shale play, which is focussed to the north of the permit. These plays will likely form the focus of exploration in the second 5 year permit term of PEP 167 as well as driving the tactics of acquiring acreage via farmin, new application or other means in the basin. Bass Basin Two permits, T/42P and T/43P, are held covering the frontier Durroon Basin. The company has acquired 2D seismic data and undertook a major basin analysis of the area during the first permit term. This resulted in defining 12 prospects and leads with upside prospective resource estimates in the order of 500 to 1,000 BCF. Negotiations to renew these permits for a further 5 years are currently on-going with the Designated Authority.
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