Oil producer Stuart Petroleum has received expert advice that its Cooper Basin tenements have the potential to contain world class resources of natural gas in two media - Shale and Coal.

Denver based unconventional gas experts MHA Petroleum Consultants delivered a Scoping Study which concludes that Stuart’s 100% owned Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) 516, just south of Santos and partners’ Moomba gas plant in South Australia’s far north, has the potential to contain between 38 Trillion and 60 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) of shale gas-in-place in the Allunga Trough and the Mettika Embayment. This Shale Gas study follows a Coal Gas study undertaken by MHA earlier this year which concluded that Stuart’s Cooper Basin coals have the potential to contain in excess of 20 TCF of gas-in-place.

Commenting, Stuart Petroleum’s Managing Director, Mr Tino Guglielmo, said: 'MHA’s work indicates that Stuart holds title to some of the most promising Shale and Coal Gas ground in the Cooper Basin, possibly in Australia. All the known criteria are encouraging and the Company is now dedicating a significant effort to progress these exciting studies. If successful, Stuart hopes to define an extraordinarily large resource of natural gas in shales and coals in the Cooper Basin.'

MHA found that thick shale accumulations in the southern Cooper Basin are thermally mature for the generation of liquids-rich natural gas. MHA has estimated that up to 60 TCF of natural gas may be trapped in the Permian-aged Roseneath and Murteree Shales in the Allunga Trough and Mettika Embayment in Stuart’s PEL 516. Stuart’s shale accumulations are comparable in area, thickness, depth, organic content,
thermal maturity and pipeline infrastructure with currently productive shale gas provinces in the United States.

Mr Guglielmo also commented that: 'The available evidence suggests that the maturity of the Roseneath and Murteree Shales is optimal for the generation of gas which is rich in high-value liquids – condensate, LPG and ethane – and lean in valueless carbon dioxide. The Roseneath Shale lies at approx. 2,400 metres and the Murteree Shale at approx. 2,600 metres, both well within the bounds of efficient production of gas using current-day shale production technology. The results of first pass development analysis indicates that Stuart’s drilling and well completion costs can be expected to be in the mid-range.'

Source: Stuart Petroleum