Denver-based MHA Petroleum Consultants provided Sunshine with an initial certified reserves statement, in which it determined Lacerta contained 1.7 petajoules of proven (1P) reserves, 224 petajoules of proven and probable (2P) reserves, and 895 of proven, probable and possible (3P) reserves.

The consultants advised Sunshine that the 1P figure was restricted to data from only one of the earlier pilots.

Based on production testing profiles, there should be further upgrades of 1P reserves once new pilot-well data has been incorporated into the MHA dataset, Sunshine said.

Sunshine’s managing director Tony Gilby said the reserve statement had confirmed Lacerta was a commercial CSM field and would allow the company to advance commercialisation.

“Achieving this initial reserve certification statement for Lacerta is an excellent outcome and provides the company with a firm foundation on which to build,” Gilby said.

“What is not so widely appreciated is that Sunshine Gas has got to this point in record time as it is only about a year since we began exploration drilling work at Lacerta.”