Under terms of the agreement, Nexus will earn a 10% interest by funding 12% of drilling cost of the Empire-operated well, located some 60km north of Perth. The well is scheduled to spud in mid-April and will target a prospect said to hold 557 billion cubic feet of gas.
Graig Marshall, Empire's managing director, said seismic data and nearby discoveries indicate there is good chance of finding gas in good quality reservoirs.
He added, if gas is discovered, it could be delivered to a wide range of customers in the deregulated WA market via the nearby Parmelia gas pipeline and Dampier-to-Bunbury gas pipeline.
The post farmin interest of the EP-389 joint venture will be Empire Oil & Gas - operator 49.211%, Nexus Energy Australia NL 10% and CalEnergy Gas (Australia) 40.789%.
