Northern Territory Is Becoming An Energy Hot Spot

Positive momentum..... I certainly do not see that reflected in the share price.

I hope management are kicking some serious goals behind closed doors as our armour is currently very, very thin.


Link to article: http://www.ogiaustralia.com/Northern-Territory-Is-Becoming-An-Energy-Hot-Spot.php

Article:

he Northern Territory has already been called “the next big thing” in energy. Sparsely populated and with a rugged desert terrain full of deep, ancient rock, it has encouraged a high degree of interest by oil and gas companies in the region.

“There’s a lot of positive momentum in this large, emerging new oil and gas province,” said Robbert de Weijer, CEO, Armour Energy Ltd., speaking at Hart Energy’s recent DUG Australia conference & exhibition in Brisbane.
Armour Energy, a junior exploration company based in Brisbane, has invested $60 million in the Northern Territory so far. The company has already drilled 10 wells, all of which have significant shows of hydrocarbon.
Other companies have entered the region as well. Origin Energy and Santos have also started to drill in the Northern Territory, de Weijer said. In addition, he called it “significant” that international players such as Statoil and Total have also entered the area.

Although Armour Energy holds a tenement stretching across Queensland and into the Northern Territory that is 133,000 sq km—roughly the size of England—it has focused its exploration in the Northern Territory on the McArthur/Beetaloo Basin. “We believe the further you go west from Queensland, the basin gets deeper. We believe it is liquid rich,” de Weijer said. “There are significant signs of oil. We’re very encouraged by what we’ve seen so far.”

Robbert de Weijer, CEO, Armour Energy Ltd., touts the Northern Territory’s oil and gas potential at the recent DUG Australia conference in Brisbane. Source: Hart Energy
The next stage for Armour Energy, de Weijer said, is to farm out selected tenements as the acreage matures. “We’ve had some very strong interest from a number of parties,” he said. “I’m also very pleased with the types of companies that have shown interest in our acreage.” He did not disclose which companies have shown interest.
The McArthur/Beetaloo Basin isn’t the only hot spot drawing interest in the Northern Territory. The Amadeus, Bonaparte and Georgina basins have shown high levels of petroleum prospects. According to work programmes, there are currently 25 exploration wells planned for drilling within the next year across all of these basins.
De Weijer listed several critical factors necessary for the industry to succeed in the Northern Territory. “Firstly, we need to have support of the government,” he said. “I am pleased with the way that the Northern Territory government and the Queensland government are supporting the industry.”

In fact, this past February, the Northern Territory government granted its first onshore licence in the area in more than 30 years. At the time, Central Petroleum was granted the 25-year licence to explore the Surprise-1 well near Alice Springs.

According to de Weijer, the Northern Territory government has continued to be supportive of the industry, even though there is still progress to be made. “It’s early days for them. They recognise that there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of streamlining requirements for approvals,” he said. “We will work together as an industry, with the operators and APPEA, to help the government streamline those approvals whilst making sure they maintain the right level of control. It is moving in the right direction for sure.”
T
he second thing needed, de Weijer said, is a market. “When you look at all of the LNG programs that have been built or are being built, they all have scope for expansion,” de Weijer said. “So whatever gas is going to be generated there will have incremental growth. That makes good economics.”

“I think the microeconomics for Australia look very good as well,” he continued.

He also pointed to the need for infrastructure. Whilst there are existing pipelines, more need to be added, de Weijer said. He said he was encouraged by APA’s $2 million feasibility study that is looking at connecting the Northern Territory to the East Coast of Australia. “As far as I’m concerned, any connection between the Northern Territory and East Coast will be a positive,” de Weijer said.

“When I look at the Northern Territory, it certainly is an emerging major oil and gas province that we can all feel very good about,” de Weijer said.