Page 10 - AsianOil Week 05 2021

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Talon expands

exploration portfolio

The Australian junior has agreed to farm in to a coal-bed methane (CBM)
block in Mongolia, after acquiring exploration acreage in Western Australia

COMMENTARY AUSTRALIAN junior Talon Petroleum has convert its prospecting contract into a full
unveiled plans to expand its exploration portfo- development contract.
lio by farming in to a stake in a proposed coal- Telmen has concluded negotiations with the
WHAT: bed methane (CBM) licence in Mongolia. Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority of
Talon has agreed to The company said on February 3 that it had Mongolia (MRPAM) on the PSA’s commercial
acquire a 33% interest executed a binding offer letter with privately terms, following the completion of an initial
in Telmen’s proposed owned Telmen Resource to acquire a 33% inter- prospecting work programme that included the
Gurvantes XXXV PSA. est in the proposed Gurvantes XXXV produc- drilling of five wells.
tion-sharing agreement (PSA), which covers While the Mongolian Mining Ministry
WHY: 8,400 square km of the western portion of the and the Cabinet still need to sign off on the
The block is located in South Gobi Basin. In return Talon has commit- PSA, Talon said it anticipated that a for-
what Talon claims is ted to covering a $1.5mn exploration and drill- mal award would be made in the coming
one of the world’s most ing programme. months. Talon wants to begin the initial
promising CBM basins The announcement comes just two weeks work programme, which includes of at least
after Talon said it had agreed to buy a 100% four core holes, as soon as the PSA has been
WHAT NEXT: stake in the Muchea play in Western Austral- awarded. The wells are expected to help to
Gas from Gurvantes XXXV ia’s onshore Perth Basin Macallum. While the confirm gas content and build understand-
could be sold locally as Mongolian and WA deals appear quite dif- ing around the play’s permeability.
well as to Chinese buyers. ferent, with the former representing the jun- At the end of the initial drilling pro-
ior’s first foray into a frontier unconventional gramme, slated for mid-2022, Talon will
resource play, both highlight Talon’s cautious then decide to terminate the farm-in or
upstream approach. In both agreements, commit to further operations. The Aus-
Talon has secured an option to walk away with tralian Junior has also secured the right to
the final acquisition once it has completed ini- match any offer Telmen receives for the sale
tial exploration work. of an additional interest in the block for a
three-year period.
Mongolian deal Talon intends to fund its work commitments
Talon is looking to take a stake in a still to be on the block through a share placement, which
awarded PSA, with Telmen currently in nego- will be conducted over two tranches and is
tiations with the Mongolian government to expected to raise AUD5mn ($3.8mn).

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 05 04•February•2021