Page 12 - AsianOil Week 45 2021

AsianOil OCEANIA AsianOil

Santos wraps up NT shale well

PROJECTS & AUSTRALIAN independent Santos has suc- Riddle said: “Coupled with strong gas shows
COMPANIES cessfully drilled the Tanumbirini 3H (T3H) encountered during drilling, we are confident
well in the EP 161 shale gas play in the Northern the wells have intersected shale that will respond
Territory. positively to fracture stimulation. Casing in T3H
T3H, which was drilled to a total measured will be set and cemented shortly.”
depth of 4,857 metres, encountered significant Once casing operations have been wrapped
gas shows, junior partner Tamboran Resources up the Easternwell Rig 106 will be released,
announced on November 8. T3H’s horizontal signalling the end of Santos’ 2021 drilling pro-
section has intersected more than 1,000 metres gramme for EP 161.
of Mid-Velkerri B shale. Riddle said that both T2H and T3H would be
Tamboran holds a 25% non-operated stake in re-entered, fracture stimulated and flow tested,
EP161, while Santos owns the remaining interest. with initial results anticipated to be announced
Tamboran managing director and CEO Joel by the end of this year.
Riddle said the drilling information gained from He added: “The information gained from
both T2H and T3H supporting the partners’ pre- drilling and flow testing T2H and T3H will be
drill understanding that natural fractures were incorporated into the well design for Maverick
present in the deepest part of the “core Beetaloo 1H, the well that Tamboran intends to drill in
Sub-basin”. EP 136, its 100% owned and operated permit,
Tamboran’s definition of the “core Beetaloo in 2022.”
Sub-basin” is an area of the basin that is analo- Tamboran acquired Sweetpea in December
gous with the most productive zones in the US’ 2020 in an all-scrip deal, giving the former com-
Marcellus Shale. pany control of EP 136.™

PNG court approves Oil Search

shareholder vote on Santos merger

FINANCE & PAPUA New Guinea’s (PNG) National Under the deal, Oil Search will take a 38.5%
INVESTMENT Court has given Oil Search the green light interest in what will become not just Australia’s
to hold a shareholder vote on its proposed largest oil and gas producer but also one of the
merger with Santos. world’s top 20 producers. Grant Samuel, how-
The court directed Oil Search on November ever, said the developer was worth 43-44% of
11 to hold a shareholder meeting on December 7 the total estimated value of the merged group.
to vote on the proposed deal, while also allowing “There is clearly a risk that the funding and
the company to provide information on the deal. other strategic benefits do not fully compensate
The court’s decision will be welcomed by shareholders for this dilution,” Grant Samuel said
both Oil Search and Santos after the National in its report that was released on November 11.
Court had deferred the transaction’s first hear- Oil Search’s chairman, Richard Lee, argued
ing twice already. that the company faced funding constraints on
While the PNG government had previ- a standalone basis. He said: “Bank debt mar-
ously raised concerns over the deal, noting kets are becoming more difficult for oil and gas
the merger must be in the nation’s best inter- sector participants. Oil Search is unlikely to
ests, Prime Minister James Marape said in be able to secure an ‘investment grade’ credit
early October that he saw the deal a “positive rating due to its asset concentration, and
development”. The change in position came incorporation, in PNG, and therefore cannot
after Marape met with Santos’ head, Kevin access more liquid global debt capital markets
Gallagher, on October 7. on attractive terms, if at all.”
While the court’s approval clears the way Oil Search’s acting CEO, Peter Fredericson,
for the shareholder vote, the deal itself has only also defended the merger ratio, telling Reuters:
received mixed approval from Oil Search’s “At the end of the day there are going to be
appointed independent expert firm. one or two out there who are going to say it’s
Grant Samuel said that though the AUD8.8bn not enough in the deal that we’ve got, but the
($6.42bn) merger was in Oil Search shareholders majority of shareholders we’ve spoken to see
best interests, the deal failed to fully reflect the the strategic benefit of putting these two busi-
company’s underlying value. nesses together.”™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 45 12•November•2021