Under the agreement, Jurassica Oil & Gas will contribute $960,000 towards drilling the Lake MacLeod oil prospect to earn a 40% interest in the EP 439 permit from the existing joint venture.

Seismic data has interpreted Lake MacLeod as an anticlinal feature with the potential to contain 150 million barrels of oil.

The exploration well will be drilled using the DCA Rig 7, which is currently contracted to drill Empire’s Parrot Hill-2 well in EP 435 either late this year or early next.

Existing interests in EP 439 and SPA12/05-06, which is expected to be converted into an exploration permit to cover the extension of the prospect, are Empire subsidiary Rough Range Oil (operator with a 57.4% stake), Longreach Oil (23.38%), Indigo Oil (11.69%), Falcore (6.49%) and Vigilant Oil (1.3%). Jurassica will earn a 40% stake from the partners.

Jurassica’s second farm-in will see it pay $40,000 towards the costs of shooting a geochemical survey in SPA 11/05-6, before contributing a further $600,000 to drill the Pelican Hill Prospect. In return, it will receive a 40% interest in the 12 graticular blocks of the exploration permit resulting from the SPA conversion.

The Pelican Hill prospect, which covers 3000 hectares, is estimated to contain a potential 50 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas in the primary Birdrong Sandstone.

If successful, gas would be supplied to the nearby town of Carnarvon, with any excess going into the spur line connected to the Dampier-Bunbury pipeline.

The EP 439 joint venture now comprises Empire (operator with a 60% stake) and Jurassica (40%).

Under the third farm-in deal, Jurassica has agreed to pay $600,000 of the cost to the drill the Whitlock Hill-1 in exchange for a 30% interest in EP 412.

Potential recoverable gas reserves for Whitlock Hill are estimated to be 52Bcf of gas.

Partners in EP 412 are Empire (operator with a 50% stake), Jurassica (30%) and Bounty Oil & Gas (20%).