Newfield put its half stake in the fields, 650km west of Darwin, on the market earlier this year and it is believed that any deal would include the Montara field, which has an estimated total reserve of 50 million barrels of oil and condensate and 400 billion cubic feet of gas.
The Kwinana-based Coogee already owns the other 50% of Montara, which has been the focus of its efforts to commercialise floating methanol production technology developed by BHP and acquired by Coogee and its partner Mogal Marine in 2000.
The addition of the Montara field is seen as a sweetener on the deal for Coogee, which has already worked in partnership with Newfield in the Timor Sea for several years.
The ageing Jabiru and Challis oil fields currently produce about 8,000bopd and have an estimated value of around $10 million despite the fact the fields only have a few producing years left and have significant abandonment liabilities.
Challis was commissioned in 1989 and is produced through the Challis Venture FPSO and Jabiru came on line in 1990 and is produced through the Jabiru Venture.
