Allchurch was a founder of Amity Oil, which recently rebadged itself as Antares Energy following a change of board and shareholder groups.

The three companies said this morning they would acquire a collective 37.5% working interest (26.25% net revenue interest) in the relatively low risk, large, Flour Bluff gas project from Houston based Texas Crude Energy Inc for a consideration of US$7.5 million.

The Flour Bluff Gas Project is located south of Corpus Christi in Nueces County on the Gulf Coast, South Texas. Project leases are some 10,200 gross acres in extent encompassing both adjacent onshore and offshore production units within a larger area of mutual interest.

The companies said they would kick in an initial US$2.5 million and then fund an aggressive exploration and development program over the next two and a half years.

A statement from Sun said: “This program aims to significantly increase production and to enlarge the current 90.6 BCF (billion cubic feet) proved, probable, possible reserve base to an estimated potential 300 BCF from multiple gas bearing sands between 6,500 and 11,500 feet in the large regional structure that underlies the leasehold lands.

It said the operator Texas Crude Energy Inc had carried out extensive studies of the considerable data base and has demonstrated that there is significant gas potential from multiple sands in the range 6,500 to 11,500 feet.

“More importantly it has carried out successful fracture stimulation of three old wells two years ago, increasing production rate from 1.3 MMCFD to 7 MMCFD (million cubic feet per day) thereby demonstrating the effectiveness of modern stimulation methods to be applied in the redevelopment of the field.”

“Current field production rate is a stable 3.2 MMCFD, which is targeted to rise at least tenfold in the next few years as exploration and development proceeds.”