coalition's probable second drill I'd be expecting Airacobra, 7...

coalition's probable second drill I'd be expecting Airacobra, 7 km NW of the Santos Narcoonowie field and about the same distance to the SW of the giant Toolachee gas field in 115.

It's an oil target, with 7 mmbls at the Low number, 21 mmbl at the Best number and with a High figure of 44 mmbl.

Thats between the JV, so Merlin has 27%, VicPet 22%, ITC 15%, Entek 12.5% and Roma 11% of that ... figuring it at $15/bbl, thats a decent amount of money to share around everyone, even at the Low number.

Zones of interest exist in both the Permian (ie Patchawarra/Tirrawarra) and Jurassic (ie Namur/Birkhead) layers. Note that Jurassic oil is what flows so enthusiastically in Worrior, over on the other side of the basin. Narconowie initally flowed at 1250 bopd.

More detail about Airacobra is on p69 of the Merlin prospectus ... the IGs report also indicates that it might be gas-prone in the Patchawarra, so we could be looking at a Worrior-style 'oil up top, gas down bottom' field.


But if they decided to drill Sabre, a four-way dip in 115, 16km west of Toolachee, with 2040 hectares of Permian closure for ... twelve million barrels of oil ... at Low, 34 mmbl at Best and 73 mmbl at High (*) numbers , I wouldnt be unhappy. More detail on Sabre at p66 of the Merlin Petroleum prospectus at www.merlinpetroleum.com.au

I don't think the joint venture will drill Ventura first up, as it partially goes into the next block over, and they should negotiate a unitisation deal first.

Finally, in case if anyone is wondering, these numbers are out of the Independant Geologists report, and I'm personally happy with how they were calculated (thickness of pay etc corresponds to nearby fields).


Ian Whitchurch
Accelerated Farmins Australia
Prefloat Consultants to Merlin Petroleum
0421 864 278
[email protected]

This is not investment advice, and before investing in any of these stocks it is important to read and understand all documentation and seek professional advice.

(*) Look, for the record, although the 73 mmbl number is in the IGs report, I personally do not expect Sabre to be bigger than the Tirrawarra oil field. But I'd be more than happy to be proven wrong.