Comet Ridge holds a 20% stake in the Tipton West CBM project. Its quarterly showed it had established significant reserves at Tipton West, flowed Tipton West 16 at 470 million cubic feet of gas a day and had the Tipton West pilot production plant flowing at 1 million cfd.
Another well on the project, Tipton 17, was also drilled to prove up additional probable gas reserves.
Those Tipton West reserves now stand at 61 petajoules of proven gas; 143 PJ of proven and probable; and 2028 PJ of proven, probable and possible. Comet Ridge’s share is 12 PJ, 29 PJ and 406 PJ respectively.
Comet Ridge’s farm-in (currently 20% but increasing to 40%) to permit ATP 337P in Queensland’s Bowen Basin suffered delays in the quarter due to the highly active market for drill rigs. It had been planned to conduct a three well drilling program but that had to be put off for want of a suitable rig.
Native title issues that had been dogging the company’s wholly owned ATP 743P and 744P in the Galilee Basin may be coming to an end. The Queensland Government recently advised that it was developing a process to deal with the backlog. Comet Ridge’s applications to prospect (ATPs) are not on the priority list at this time, something the company is trying to change.
Comet Ridge suspended work on its other Queensland projects – Dalby South/Meenawarra, Millmerran and ATP 689 – to allow it to concentrate on Tipton West.
In the New South Wales Surat Basin, the company’s wholly owned PEL 427 and its 80% owned PEL 428 plays hit a snag with draft NSW Government legislation potentially impacting them. The legislation suggests title changes that could remove parts of existing Petroleum Exploration Licences from exploration activities.
Comet Ridge had planned to reduce its stake in PEL 427 to 25% and its holding in PEL 428 to 20%. However, farminee Eastern Star Gas has decided to put its planned NSW exploration on hold until the full effects of the legislation are better understood.
On the management front Comet Ridge appointed Vic Palaynyk to the position of general manager. He will be based in Brisbane.
Comet Ridge also recently announced a push into the US targeting CBM methane and conventional oil and gas prospects that will be led by the company’s managing director Andy Lydyard.
