“During the recent Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) conference held in Perth, the company received enough farmin interest to plan the drilling of one of the prospects adjacent to Rough Range,” Empire said.

The company said it was considering drilling either the Pindan Prospect (estimated potential recoverable oil reserves of 3.3 million barrels), Dune (estimated potential recoverable reserves of 2 million barrels) or Parrot Hill East (estimated potential recoverable reserves of 4.7 million barrels). All of these prospects are located on the Bullara Trend adjacent to the Rough Range Oilfield.

“A discovery well on the Bullara Trend would open up a new onshore oil production trend in the Exmouth Sub Basin,” Empire said.

“The Bullara Trend prospects extend into EP 412 where the company is earning an 80% interest and also into EP 359 where the company has a 33.36% interest.”

At Rough Range itself, installation of the artificial lift began on 21 April with the well being cleared of waxy oil before running in the pump rods and installing the Lufkin Pump, according to Empire.

Rough Range 1B flowed at the equivalent of 1,293 barrels of oil during this clean-up period.

Installing a Lufkin Pump for artificial lift is designed to control the production rate to 250 barrels of oil per day to control and inhibit water production from the strong water drive of the Birdrong Sandstone oil reservoir.

The BP Kwinana Refinery has agreed to buy Rough Range crude oil at a rate of up to 1,000 barrels of oil per day, according to Empire.

“The company has previously reported that it calculated a net cash flow estimated at $1m to $1.5m per year at an oil price of US$35,” Empire said.

“With oil prices at or above US$50 per barrel for West Texas Intermediate, the company considers that these estimates are conservative.”