"AWE has sold its Carnarvon exploration interests but has kept two, free carried "goodbye wells" with potential to add $1.40 per share if both wells were to be discoveries," Camichael said.

Carmichael added that in a deal with Apache, AWE has offloaded all its non-core Carnarvon acreage so as to focus on its BassGas development and other developments, however, it has retained a free carried, 10 per cent interest in two wells in WA-202P. They are planned to be drilled back-to-back in the March quarter of 2002.

"The Bloodwood prospect is highly prospective for 32 mmbls of oil where we rate the chance of success at a high 25%. At an inground value of $A5/bbl, discovery would add eight cents to AWE's value," Carmichael said. "The Quandrong prospect is carrying a more normal wildcat drilling risk of about 12:1 but could contain up to 300 mmbls of oil, worth $1.30 per share to AWE on discovery."

Carmichael added AWE will participate in four exploration wells over the next four months and with an underlaying value of over 90 cents per share, any exploration success will add to that value.