Pilot Energy said it has confirmed the potential for millions of barrels of oil from its WA-507-P permit after an independent audit.
The company previously announced the potential for multi-Tcf gas discoveries within the North Carnarvon basin off the coast of Australia.
An estimate by Gaffney, Cline and Associates said prospective oil resources cases for the three exploration leads identified there was a 30% probability of oil versus a 70% probability of gas.
Pilot Energy managing director, Iain Smith, said: “GCA’s findings clearly confirm the potential for the very large and previously quantified exploration leads within WA-507-P to be oil-bearing.
“We look forward to progressing our geological understanding of the permit in order to further de-risk the exploration leads, as we work towards attracting a suitable industry partner to fund the future exploration program.”
Pilot said regional well data as well as various studies had supported the case for an oil play with Exmouth Plateau.
The primary target of the outer Northwest shelf has historically been gas with a high success rate based on drilling prospects that exhibit direct hydrocarbon indicators on seismic data.