IPB gets more time to find seismic vessel for WA-471-B

IPB Petroleum Limited has announced that the Commonwealth-Western Australia Offshore Petroleum Joint Authority has granted the Company a twelve (12) month suspension and extension to the scheduled Permit Work Programme of Permit WA-471-P (IPB 100%*) to allow sufficient time to complete a new 3D seismic survey ahead of the start of Year 3 of the Primary Term of the Permit.

 
As a consequence of the lack of suitable available vessels to conduct a new 3D Seismic Survey IPB has sought and has been granted a twelve (12) month suspension and extension to the WA-471-P Permit Year 2 end date to 3 May 2015.

Substantial progress has been made towards the resubmission of the requisite Environmental Plan (EP) for new 3D surveys covering both WA-471-P (the subject of the extension) and WA-485-P (IPB 100%) permits. Further modification of the EP is required by NOPSEMA and currently plans are such that resubmission by IPB is expected by end June 2014.

IPB is also in discussions with a number of potential 3D seismic contractors for the future subject surveys and advises that results at the planned Pryderi-1 well in the immediately southerly bounding permit WA-424-P are expected to have some impact on the size and configuration of these surveys.

About WA-471-P
IPB Petroleum’s work to-date supports its view that the WA-471-P permit lies along the Gwydion discovery’s oil migration pathway due to its location in between the existing Gwydion oil discovery to the permit’s south (WA-424-P) and the discovery’s identified oil-prone source rocks to the permit’s north.
Geological and geophysical work, including the recent seismic re-processing project has identified some features and leads on existing 2D seismic which bear similarities to the Pryderi type (M.australis) stratigraphic play and the Gwydion or Mordred structural plays identified in IPB Petroleum’s WA-424-P (IPB 75%) permit to the south.

The sparseness of seismic data over parts of the permit area does not currently allow any resources to be assigned in WA-471-P. However, features identified on the existing 2D seismic by IPB Petroleum and subsequent preliminary analysis, suggest that there are a significant number of play-types worthy of further detailed follow up following the planned subject 3D seismic survey in first half 2015 and ahead of the commitment well in Permit Year 3 (ending May 2016).