Rawson said the Queensland Government had notified the JV – which also comprises Hardie Energy and Energetica Resources – that it was the preferred tenderer for the ATP 893P and ATP901P permits.

Located in the central Surat Basin, the two permits lie between the Moonie oil field trend in the east and the Roma gas-condensate trend in the west.

Rawson and its partners will primarily be targeting gas and condensate, similar to that discovered in Sunshine Gas’ Overston wells, and oil as identified in the Inglestone-Kinkabilla wells.

An extensive surface geochemical program followed by seismic and drilling are planned for both these large permits.

The permits lie in a central rift valley, which could host large reserves of what Rawson said is known as “deep basin gas” in both the Triassic and Permian sands.

Wells drilled in this region could potentially produce gas with little or no associated water, but Rawson said the wells would probably require new fraccing technology to boost flow rates from the gas reservoirs.

Rawson’s chairman Dr John Conolly said the company now held exploration rights to four permits in the Surat Basin.

“This program straddles the Surat Basin from the Moonie area in the east, where the company holds a 50 percent interest in the newly-awarded ATP 837P, across the central region with new permits ATP893P and ATP901P, to the company’s 25 percent interest in the Bellbird permit ATP 552P in the west,” he said.

“These successful bids have all occurred within the last 12 months, making the Surat Basin region with its well-established oil and gas infrastructure a core exploration region for Rawson Resources.”