“QGC now has all of the petroleum leases, reserves and funding in place to develop the gas field at Argyle, and we understand the pipeline licence applications are in the final stages of approval,” managing director Richard Cottee said.
The leases cover 232 square kilometres.
The approvals granted yesterday include: Petroleum Lease 179, covering a 52sq km area containing the original Argyle pilot wells; PL229, covering 24sq km area that contains the Argyle East pilot wells, 6km to the east of the original pilot; and PL228, covering 156 sq km to the south of the Argyle and Argyle East pilots.
This will be QGC’s second gas supply project. It will enable the company to provide 7.4 petajoules a year from 2007 to Incitec Pivot in partnership with Pangaea Oil & Gas.
The Argyle project centres on a 10-year gas supply contract with Incitec that became unconditional last Friday.
QGC is already developing its first project at PL201 at Berwyndale South, including a 14 kilometre pipeline linking the field to the Roma-to-Brisbane pipeline.
These processing and transportation facilities are being designed with sufficient capacity to meet all of the company’s existing gas supply contracts, QGC said.
Interests in ATP 620P, Argyle are QGC 59.375% and Pangaea Oil & Gas 40.625%.
Interests in PL201, Berwyndale South are QGC 90% and Sentient Global Resources Fund 10%.
