Empire said it would use the A$830,383 revenue in addition to capital raised from August’s Placement Issue to fund drilling of the Dune-1 exploration well in the Exmouth Sub-Basin and the Moriary-1 well in the North Perth Basin.

Empire has contracted a rig to drill Dune-1 in EP 434 by early January 2006. The contract allows for additional wells to be drilled if this well makes an oil discovery.

With a potential recovery of two million barrels of oil reserves, the well has a planned total depth of 1,350 metres to test the Birdrong Sandstone reservoir oil objective, which is productive at Rough Range three kilometres away, said Empire.

“The Dune-1 well is considered the best seismically defined structure," managing director Craig Marshall said.

If Empire was successful at Dune, it would immediately target the nearby Pindan Prospect, whihc it estimated had potential recoverable oil reserves of 3.3 million barrels of oil.

Another prospect further along the Bullara Trend - Parrot Hill East - had potential recoverable reserves of 4.7 million barrels, according to Marshall.

Tthe Bullara Trend also extended into the company’s adjacent EP 359 and EP 412 permits, where several prospects and leads have also been identified.

Meanwhile, the company hopes to spud the Moriary-1 well in November or December this year, using the Century Rig 11 currently drilling in the Perth Basin.

Marshall said Empire was satisfied with its delivery of the 11,464 barrels of crude oil to the refinery in the eight-week period since Rough Range was commissioned on July 21.

“The company is more than pleased with the performance of its own purposed build and designed Rough Range Production Facility, the safety procedures, the training of its oilfield operators and the economics of running the LPG gas generated facility,” he said.

Empire plans to produce and deliver at least 200 barrels of Rough Range crude oil per day to the BP refinery, he said.