An Aberdeen-headquartered oil firm has safeguarded 10 Scottish jobs after striking a deal to farm out 50% of a prospect in western Australia.
Warrego Energy will receive about £300,000 from Australian firm Strike Energy in exchange for half of EP469 in the Perth Basin.
Strike, which takes over as operator, will also cover 100% of the cost of drilling an exploration well within the permit.
Strike’s spending on the well will be capped at £6million within the first two years.
Dennis Donald co-founded Warrego in 2007 and is the company’s managing director.
Mr Donald, a former Shell engineer, said: “We are delighted to be working with such a competent and technically driven partner in Strike.
“After assembling the excellent quality data set over the West Erregulla block it is exciting to begin well delivery preparations.”
Warrego’s other co-founder was director Duncan MacNiven, a “retired” corporate lawyer.
Warrego hopes the prospect will be as successful as the nearby Waitsia discovery, which is making £435,000 per day.
Strike managing director Stuart Nicholls said: “It is an exciting time for Strike to enter the northern Perth Basin with a prospect analogous to the recent high-profile Waitsia discovery which is considered to be Australia’s largest onshore gas discovery in 40 years.”
“EP469 contains an onshore conventional gas prospect that can utilise existing infrastructure and is near to end users. This, coupled with the huge domestic and export gas demand in WA, has the makings of a commercially significant gas project.”
Warrego took control of EP469, located 140miles north-east of Perth, in 2010.
The company secured permission to carry out a seismic campaign at the end of 2014. It revealed “significant prospectivity”.
Also in 2014, Warrego raised £21million from their Dutch joint venture partners, Dyas and Mazarine.