im in BUY for their diversified portfolio and the leverage...+ they are producing oil as we speak to keep the books rolling on nicely. PEP11 is the big one though. at 9c with BUY management spruiking a +$2 sp if PEP11 successful its def worth a punt of some sort. and the best bit is that BUY is free carried on the first drill.
Advent Energy to Drill Gas Field Near Sydney Early Next Year (2010) - By Ben Farey
Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Advent Energy Ltd., an Australian explorer, plans to begin drilling for natural gas offshore Sydney in the first half of next year at a field that may contain enough gas to supply the country for almost 20 years.
We still have to drill, David Breeze, executive director of unlisted Advent Energy, said Oct. 29 at the Floating LNG conference in London. The drilling is the potential lie detector.
Coal-rich Australia is seeking to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, possibly through increased use of cleaner-burning natural gas. Advent Energy, a subsidiary of MEC Resources Ltd. that may be listed, and partner and operator Bounty Oil & Gas NL, acquired license PEP11 after Santos Ltd., Australias third- largest oil and gas producer, gave up its claim.
Santos gave this up when coal was king, Breeze said in an interview. Seismic data show the field may hold as much as 16.3 trillion cubic feet of gas, with a mean at 7 trillion cubic feet, he said. Satellite images show gas seeping to the surface in the Sydney Basin, previously dismissed as pollution from shipping, he said.
The license runs from the north near Newcastle as far south as Woollongong. Newcastle is the biggest coal exporting port in the world.
Australias ruling Labor Party wants to introduce carbon trading in 2011 as part of a policy to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by between 5 percent and 15 percent of their 2000 levels by 2020. Coal accounted for 56 percent of the nations energy-related carbon-dioxide emissions in 2006, according to Energy Information Administration estimates, compared with 19 percent for gas.
Coal-Fired Plants
One-third of Australias carbon dioxide emissions are from 12 or 13 power plants between Newcastle and Woollongong, Breeze said. Demand for gas in New South Wales is set to double in a little over a decade, he said. The find is about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Sydney.
Geological data show the gas structure to be analogous to formations off Norways coast, Breeze said in a presentation, citing the underwater landslide that marks the Ormen Lange field, Norways second-largest field after Troll. Geological comparisons to Brazils Albacore field have also been made, he added. Talks to get a drilling rig are at an advanced stage.
Analysis of the gas seepage shows 90.69 percent methane, 1.58 percent oxygen, 4.14 percent carbon dioxide and 3.7 percent nitrogen, the presentation showed.
Advent plans to list on a European exchange in the near future, Breeze said in the interview, probably in Oslo or on Londons Alternative Investment Market. The company employs 12 people at present and will begin pre-drilling survey work soon. Breeze said hes very confident drilling will be allowed.
Asia LNG
Some of the gas from the prospect will be allocated to the growing domestic market in eastern Australia. The company is looking at the Asian liquefied natural gas export markets of China, India, South Korea and Japan, Breeze said. A floating LNG facility is one option to develop the reserves, he said.
Our objective is to get substantial partners to assist us in the development of the project, he said.
Advent will gain an additional 60 percent of the license if drilling begins, raising its stake to 85 percent. The company has raised A$7 million ($6.37 million) from a private backer and needs a total of A$27 million.
BioPharmica Ltd., an Australian biotechnology company also controlled by Breeze, has the right to acquire a 20 percent interest in Advent Energy.
Australia consumed 23.5 billion cubic meters of gas last year, according to BP Plcs Statistical Review of World Energy 2009. Thats about 830 billion cubic feet.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Farey in London at [email protected]
