The company said it has completed all the necessary Aboriginal heritage surveys over the three drilling locations and will drill Star Finch-1 in EP 460 first, followed by Lake MacLeod-1 in EP 461.
Star Finch-1 has estimated potential recoverable reserves of 50 billion cubic feet of gas and 25 million barrels of oil, while Lake MacLeod may have up to 150MMbbl of recoverable oil.
The two wells will be drilled by Drilling Contractors of Australia Rig 7, which has been mobilised to Carnarvon.
Empire said it also has approval to drill Star Finch-2 appraisal well in the event of a discovery at Star Finch-1, while a testing program will be carried out before determining any appraisal wells at Lake MacLeod.
Empire added there are similar Star Finch type structures within EP 460 (22.856%), EP 461 (30.356%) and the adjacent EP 439 (30.356%).
Other partners on the three permits include United Kingdom private company Jurassica Oil & Gas, Longreach Oil and DVM International.
