Winning a major backer such as Babcock & Brown is a significant reversal of fortune for Coogee, which was forced to abandon a $380 million float last year after oil price movements deterred major institutional investors.
Coogee chief executive Peter Hood said today the Perth-based company had achieved key project milestones, and production from Montara was on track for the third quarter of next year.
Coogee is aiming to build up to production of up to 38,000 barrels a day in the first phase of the Montara project.
“The development of Montara remains on schedule with the achievement of several other key milestones, including the granting of the production licence, signing of a contract with Seadrill to secure a jack-up rig for 12 months, appointing all key staff for our development team and signing of the FPSO lease with Tanker Pacific Offshore Terminals,” Hood said.
In addition, a four-year, 11-well exploration drilling campaign is due to start in November, with the spudding of Sea Eagle-1 in the AC/P34 permit, which is targeting proven and probable resources of 5 million barrels of oil.
Private equity, yes; public life, no
These initiatives will be funded by a combination of a secured $270 million debt facility from a three-bank syndicate, finance lease for the floating processing, storage and offtake vessel and an equity package that involved Babcock & Brown becoming a “significant shareholder” in Coogee.
Coogee declined to specify the size of the shareholding, but it is understood that the company has now ruled out floating in the short-to-medium term.
Hood said Coogee’s corporate strategy was focused on developing its key asset – Montara – into production, extracting further value from its exploration acreage.
It is also exploring using a floating gas-to-liquids methanol production facility to commercialise stranded gas. Coogee has about 834 billion cubic feet of contingent offshore gas resources and believes it can also commercialise third-party stranded gas.
The Montara project comprises the Montara, Skua and Swift/Swallow oil fields and has 2P reserves of 36.9 million barrels of oil. Coogee’s existing producing operations at Jabiru and Challis (Coogee 70.94%) have 2P reserves of 5.2MMbbl.
In addition, the company has an extensive exploration portfolio comprising 21.2MMbbl and 8.8MMbbl of Gaffney Cline Associates-audited oil prospects and leads, respectively, all located within tie-back distance to the Jabiru and Montara fields.
Coogee chief operating office Andy Jacob will address this year's SEAAOC conference, to be held in Darwin from May 30 until June 1, speaking on the company's Timor Sea developments.
