The reprocessing and inversion study over the prospect in the 100% held WA-488-P was described as very "encouraging".
MEO says Beehive is potentially a multi-billion barrel, dual objective, oil-prone prospect in the Bonaparte Basin located in 40m water depth next to the producing Blacktip gas field, and near to the undeveloped Turtle-Barnett oil fields.
The Carboniferous-age objective is a 180sq.km isolated carbonate build up with 400m of mapped vertical relief, analogous to the giant Tengiz field in the Caspian Basin.
The sixth largest field in the world, Tengiz has some 25 billion barrels of oil-in-place, with 6-9Bbbl recoverable.
Tengiz was laid down at the same time as the Beehive structure, a similar distance from the equator, in the same sort of tropical environment, just in the northern hemisphere instead of the southern hemisphere.
It has moved around due to continental drift over the millennia, but MEO believes Beehive-1 will test the same sort of carbonate build-up.
It is a completely undrilled play in the Bonaparte Basin, and carries a mix of high risk and high reward, but drilling costs should be modest, and the company has been working hard to de-risk the prospect as much as possible.
It has already defined the prospect on a tight grid of pre-existing 2D seismic data, which MEO has reprocessed to further de-risk the prospect, supporting the interpretation that the primary reservoir is a Carboniferous carbonate build up and that the overlying seal is a bland, shale-prone sequence capable of trapping any hydrocarbons in the substantial structure have been retained.
The company believes the Carboniferous objective has the potential for between 97 million barrels and 2Bbbl, with a best 558MMbbl, while the deeper Ordovician objective could contain between 63MMbbl and 1.22Bbbl with a best potential of 305MMbbl.
The company believes the Carboniferous objective has a 16% chance of success, while the Ordovician Buried Hill play is riskier with an 8% chance of success.
"The Beehive prospect is one of the largest hydrocarbon structures in Australia. Results from the reprocessing and inversion of seismic data across the Beehive prospect have exceeded our expectations. This study has generated multiple data sets, with a dramatic improvement in data quality," MEO managing director Peter Stickland said.
"All of the products are pointing in the same positive direction and strengthen our understanding of the likelihood of good reservoir and seal characteristics, which are key elements of the Beehive interpretation."
The company will now update its risk analysis and characterisation of the prospect and then seek a farm-in partner to fund further exploration of the prospect.
The company is seeking a free carry through the drilling, and needs a partner or partners to replace Singapore's Rex International Holdings, which ran its proprietary seismic evaluation technology, Rex Virtual Drilling, over Beehive last year.
The technology analyses conventional seismic resonance data and extracts information that Rex says can present information about the presence of liquid hydrocarbons, and predict oil quality as well as in-place volumes
The results of the Beehive analysis were considered encouraging, providing a positive response for oil consistent with MEO's geological assessment, however after six months Rex walked away saying that in the light of low oil prices it wanted to focus on its key assets in Norway and Oman.
Well costs were expected to be $20 million, but that was before the dramatic fall in service costs.
