Comet Ridge has a 100% interest in two adjacent permits on the eastern flank of Queensland’s Galilee Basin, ATP 743P and ATP 744P. These permits have a combined area of 12,991 sq km, and even with the recent Comet Ridge exploration drilling activities this area can only be described as sparsely explored to date.

Comet Ridge has drilled five wells in these two permits since the company was awarded the permits in late 2009. The most promising results were obtained at Hergenrother-1 and Gunn-1 in the south west of ATP 744P, where net coals of 16m thickness were intercepted. Gas contents of 4.0 to 4.5 m3/t dry ash free (DAF) were recorded in this area, and drillstem testing has confirmed that the coals are permeable.

On 25 November 2010, Comet Ridge announced a Contingent Resource Certification by NSAI covering only the south-western leg of ATP 744P, known as the Gunn Project Area. The following table represents the Contingent Resources attributable to Comet Ridge in this area:

A recent regional mapping exercise has identified a structural nose in the Gunn Project Area. This feature contains the Hergenrother-1 and Gunn-1 wells. Comet Ridge’s primary focus is now on better understanding these structural features in the Gunn Project Area ahead of the next drilling campaign. This activity is likely to involve seismic acquisition in 2011 in order to identify optimal locations for the upcoming appraisal drilling programme.

The technical effort through to the end of 2012 will have two objectives:

• Move a large part of the certified Contingent Resources and Prospective Resources in the Gunn Project Area into the Reserves category
• Expand activities further across ATP 743P and ATP 744P to gain additional Contingent and Prospective Resources

Comet Ridge’s Galilee Basin permits are located on the shallower eastern edge of the basin, making it closer to gas infrastructure and the Gladstone LNG precinct than most Galilee Basin CSG permits. The permits are also close to the numerous Galilee Basin coal mining projects proposed by Hancock Coal, Waratah Coal, Adani and Bandanna / ACMI, each with significant power demand requirements.

With approximately 2,500 PJ of Contingent and Prospective Resources certified in the Gunn Project Area alone, and the remainder of ATP 743P and ATP 744P relatively underexplored, these permits have sufficient reserves potential to contribute significantly towards the gas demands of both the local coal mining industry and the growing LNG industry at Gladstone.

Back to Top