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VICTORIA PETROLEUM NL 2002-04-30 ASX-SIGNAL-G

HOMEX - Adelaide

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SOUTH AUSTRALIA

PEL 57
OTWAY BASIN, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
VICTORIA PETROLEUM NL INTEREST - 10%

Victoria Petroleum NL has a 10% interest in PEL 57 which covers an
area of 794 square kilometres in the onshore Otway Basin.

Exploration has now focussed on the north western portion of the area
with the planned Honans Scrub seismic program of 60 kilometres over
the Orana Prospect to be carried out in the second quarter of 2002.

Origin Energy is the operator of the PEL 57 Joint Venture and the
adjacent Katnook/Hazelgrove producing gas fields.

NEW CALEDONIA
PRA 436 (RENEWAL APPLICATION)
NEW CALEDONIA BASIN, NEW CALEDONIA
VICTORIA PETROLEUM NL INTEREST - 33%

The Participants in the PRA 436 exploration effort are currently
studying the potential for a second well on the Gouaro Prospect in
conjunction with a renewal application over the area.

The first well, Cadart-1, was drilled to a total depth of 1930 metres
in January 2000. An open-hole test of the interval 1650-1930 metres
produced gas to surface at a rate too small to measure. After a
36-hour flow test, the well bridged off and the gas flow died.
Subsequent attempts to sidetrack the well and re-drill the
prospective section were unsuccessful and the well was abandoned on
17th February 2000.

A ready market for gas to electricity from 6 million cubic feet per
day up to 50 million cubic feet per day potentially increasing to 100
million cubic feet per day in 2003, at attractive gas prices is
available for the adjacent industrial and nickel refining operations
in New Caledonia.

Victoria Petroleum NL considers the frontier nature of oil and gas
exploration in New Caledonia is more than offset by the extremely
strong market demand for any locally discovered and produced
hydrocarbons to replace the 2 million barrels of diesel and fuel oil
imported each year to generate electricity for New Caledonia and the
encouraging oil and gas shows and gas flow to surface from the
Cadart-1 drilling.

Victoria Petroleum NL is the Operator of the PRA 436 Joint Venture.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA
PPL 228
PAPUAN BASIN, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
VICTORIA PETROLEUM NL INTEREST - 15%

Petroleum Prospecting Licence PPL 228 was issued in September 2001 as
a result of the top-file over the more prospective portions of PPL
202 and 213. PPL 228, formerly PPL 202 and PPL 213, lies in the mid
western extremities of Papua New Guinea. The OK Tedi copper mine and
the river port of Tabubil, laying within the western portion of the
licence area, are the major and only infrastructure centres in this
part of the country.

The Joint Venture considers the area of PPL 228 as being cursorily
explored in both the highland and foreland areas of the Fold Belt.
The Tarim 1 well, drilled in the highlands of the Fold Belt in the
northeastern portion of the licence in 1990, tested gas and trace
condensate from the Toro and Digumu Sandstones over the interval
3,378 metres to 3,499 metres, but good oil shows within sandstones of
the Alene Member of the Toro Sandstone remained untested due to
mechanical problems in the well. Similarly, good oil shows were
encountered in the Alene Member in the Menga Anticline drilled by
Menga No. 1 in 1995. As a generalisation the major folds and
stratigraphy that contain substantial producing hydrocarbon fields
such as Hides, Moran, Iagifu, Hedina and Gobe trend into this portion
of the permit from the southeast.

The prospectivity of the foreland portion of the Fold Belt is
promoted by the untested 7.8 metre net gas/condensate discovery in
the Toro Sandstone in a compartment of the overlapping Stanley
Prospect in PPL 157, and similar encouragement from the large Elevala
1 trillion cubic feet and 60 million barrels gas/condensate discovery
and its yet explored down dip oil-leg potential in the same south
bounding permit

A complete review of the prospect and lead inventory on the permit,
inclusive of extensive geological studies and financial modelling,
has been carried out by the Operator, Barracuda. High graded
prospects and leads have resulted with the delineation of the Amdi
(775 million barrels), Tarim (300 million barrels, Muir (171 million
barrel), Champion (390 million barrels) prospects.. These are located
where infrastructure is good and geological and structural risk is
reduced; ie target depth is shallow and hydrocarbons are known to be
present from the previous drilling of Tarim No. 1 and Menga No. 1.

In the next few months the joint venture will commence a field
program of geotraversing and seismic to confirm the Amdi Anticline
(up to 755 million barrels of oil potential) as a drill target for
2003. Amdi lies between the previously drilled Menga structure that
had good oil shows in the Alene reservoir, but structure had been
breached, and the large 2.5 trillion cubic feet and 35 million barrel
Pynang Gas/Condensate Field. It is thought that late gas charge
displaced the majority of what must have been a substantial oil
reservoir from the Pynang structure, to migrate oil northwest into
the Amdi and Tarim Prospects.

Santos Ltd is the Operator of the PPL 228 Joint Venture.

J Kopcheff
MANAGING DIRECTOR

For information on Victoria Petroleum NL drilling activities visit
our website at www.vicpet.com.au

For information on Kestral Energy, Inc US drilling and development
activities visit the Kestrel Energy, Inc website at
www.kestrelenergy.com