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- Comet Ridge has announced the Mahalo Joint Venture (MJV) has lodged two petroleum lease applications (PLA)
- Once granted, it is expected the leases will have a 30-year lease term and Comet will be able to commence production in two years
- The MJV is also finalising applications for Potential Commercial Area’s (PCA’s) which will cover the remaining area of the Mahalo Block
Comet Ridge has announced the Mahalo Joint Venture (MJV) has lodged two petroleum lease applications (PLA).
The leases will cover the initial development area for the Mahalo Gas Project.
The procedure will be managed by the Department of Natural Resources Mines and
Energy (DNRME) in Queensland as the first step for the developers to convert a short term exploration tenure into a long term tenure.
It is expected that once granted the leases will have a 30-year lease term and Comet will be able to commence production in two years.
Mahalo Gas Project is located in the Denison Trough area of Queensland’s Bowen Basin near Rolleston.
The project currently covers an area of 911 kilometres squared. 24 wells have been drilled in the project, with 20 of these drilled since Comet Ridge acquired its interest in 2004.
Mahalo is a joint venture project with Comet Ridge (40), APLNG holdings (30) and Santos (30). All gas produced from the project will be separately marketed between the businesses.
In July, Comet Ridge said the development of the northern part of Mahalo block is planned to; targeting the Castor and Pollux Seams, have a modular gas plant that is likely to be sized for an 80 TJ/d gas capacity and be a series of mostly dual lateral wells.
Comet Ridges Managing Director Tor McCaul is pleased that the MJV has lodged these PLA’s.
“Which now activated the development timeline for the Project as another key step towards first gas,” he said.
“The optimisation of the well design to a more economically efficient dual lateral and vertical production well pair, and accessing only the Castor and Pollux seams initially, will see fewer wells drilled as part of a more efficient initial development than originally envisaged in the Comet Ridge 2017 development plan,” Tor added.
The MJV is also finalising applications for Potential Commercial Area’s (PCA’s) which will cover the remaining area of the Mahalo Block not covered by the PLA’s.
It is expected the PCA’s will be lodged within the coming days.
