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1:51 am
Jun 14, 2013
Asia

JV Seeks Buyer for Australia’s Basker-Manta-Gummy Oil, Gas Field

By Gillian Tan
Four joint venture partners in an offshore Australian oil and gas project are offering to sell their combined interests, according to a flyer obtained by MoneyBeat.

Roc Oil Co. ROC.AU -3.03% Ltd Beach Energy Ltd. BPT.AU +6.31%, Japan’s Sojitz Corp. 2768.TO +0.62%, and Indonesia’s PT Pertamina Hulu Energi Australia Pty Ltd. have hired Miro Advisors to sell a combined 100% stake in the Basker-Manta-Gummy Field in the Gippsland Basin in the southern state of Victoria.

The producing complex still has potential for more oil and gas output, but bidders will be mindful of its difficult history. Three years ago, Roc took a hefty impairment charge following a steep downgrade of reserves at the site.

PHOTO BY EDDIE SEAL FOR BLOOMBERG NEWS ES_OILRIG_01–Orion Drilling Co. –Floor hands (LtoR) David Vannapha , Mario Ramos and Jose Garza make a pipe connection on the drill string on the Orion Perseus drilling rig that is currently drilling for oil and gas in the Eagle Ford Shale, Webb County, Texas. 3/26/2012 —Bloomberg News
According to the sales flyer, the Basker-Manta-Gummy project has an estimated resource of more than 200 billion cubic feet of natural gas and more than 15 million barrels of oil. Developing this resource will require investment of up to US$700 million, it says.

Already a large amount of infrastructure is in place across the three production licenses, including pipelines. The Gippsland Basin is one of Australia’s oldest energy hubs, with companies including Exxon Mobil Corp XOM +1.77%BHP Billiton Ltd. BHP.AU +2.46% and Santos Ltd. STO.AU +2.00% having investments in the area. According to U.K.-based consultancy Wood Mackenzie, there are recoverable reserves of more than 5 billion barrels of oil and more than 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Gippsland Basin.

The Basker field was discovered in 1983, while Manta and Gummy were discovered in 1984 and 1990, respectively. Their cumulative production by the end of 2007 was more than 3 million barrels.

Itochu Corp. 8001.TO +1.05% owned a 20% stake in the asset until January this year when it sold out to the remaining four joint venture partners.


http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/06/14/jv-seeks-buyer-for-australias-basker-manta-gummy-oil-gas-field/