Drilling partner search begins for Pilot Energy’s Perth Basin prospect

July 23, 2025, by Dragana Nikše

Australia’s Pilot Energy has started a formal farmout process to find exploration joint venture partners for its license in the North Perth Basin offshore Western Australia (WA).

A possible concept for the CO2 Export Terminal, offshore barge storage utilizing existing jetty facilities; Source: Pilot Energy

Pilot is the operator of and 100%-owner of the WA-481P exploration acreage permit, said to be one of Australia’s largest offshore exploration permits. Covering 8,605 square kilometers, it is located in shallow waters offshore Western Australia.

The license encompasses the Dunsborough oil field and Frankland gas field. The former is said to contain a contingent oil resource (2C) of 6 million barrels, and the latter a contingent gas resource (2C) of 42 Bcf.

The Australian player says it is looking for partners with specific technical and/or commercial expertise to drill the Leander gas prospect to prove up the 1.1 trillion cubic feet (tcf) gas prospective resource (mean) potential and to commercialize its development.

For this purpose, the company established a data room and dedicated resources, resulting in what it says are many requests for the farmout teaser from “qualified” interested parties.

The Leander prospect is described as a robust, large closure with multiple stacked pay targets with high probability of success (PoS) estimates ranging from 24% to 36%. Pilot considers the Kingia Sandstone target interval within the Leander prospect especially attractive, with an estimated prospective resource of 536 billion cubic feet (bcf) and 31% PoS.

Pilot Energy Managing Director, Brad Lingo, stated: “Due to the quality and extent of Pilot’s Perth Basin exploration holdings and their fast-track development potential to get direct access to the Western Australia domestic gas market, the Company expects the farmout process to be competitive. We are very focussed on bringing in partners that are focussed on the near-term drilling of the Leander Prospect and bringing gas to market.”

Located 15 kilometers west of the existing Cliff Head oil platform, Leander is thought to be the most mature target within WA-481-P. The prospect was originally identified by Diamond Shamrock Oil Company in the early 1980s, which drilled the Leander Reef 1 well. Due to operational challenges, the drilling was stopped.

Furthermore, Harrier and Hawk gas prospects lie immediately south of Leander and provide additional exploration targets, according to Pilot. The company is also progressing three oil targets south of Cliff Head, which lie on the structural trend between the “oil mature kitchen” and the Cliff Head oil field and Xanadu oil discovery, boosting their appeal.

*North Perth Basin Offshore Gas Exploration Play Fairway – WA-481P; Source: Pilot Energy*

The Australian player believes its acquisition of Cliff Head assets can facilitate the fast-track development of any discovery as it provides a clear line of sight from discovery to commercial development. This has the potential to deliver gas resources into the WA domestic gas market at a time when a shortage is said to be looming.

In February 2025, Pilot and compatriot South32 agreed to undertake a joint feasibility study of the carbon supply chain required to enable capturing and storing up to approximately 700,000 tonnes per annum of carbon dioxide (CO2) associated with South32’s Worsley Alumina operations. The captured CO2 is then slated to be delivered to Pilot’s planned storage site for the Cliff Head carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.

Partners testing feasibility of CO2 storage at mature oil field off Australia

Research & Development

For this purpose, Pilot wrapped up the acquisition of Cliff Head Oil Joint Venture’s 100% interest in Cliff Head onshore assets from Triangle Energy in June, which is the first step of the acquisition process. The next one is obtaining authorization from the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) for the transfer of the remaining offshore assets and licenses to Pilot.

The proposed CCS project is located 120 kilometers south of Geraldton on the mid-west coast of Western Australia. It involves a brownfield redevelopment using the existing onshore and offshore facilities associated with the Cliff Head mature oil field with a ready, end-of-life, offshore reservoir, which the developer believes is suited to CO2 injection and permanent storage.

The project is envisaged to provide over 1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of permanent CO2 storage, growing to 2.5 mtpa by 2029. After that, the storage capacity is expected to increase to over 100 million tonnes and the injection rate to 5 mmtpa by 2030. With the first CO2 injection targeted in 2026, the project is expected to remain in operation until 2050.