Monarch has exhibited Direct Hydrocarbon Indications on seismic within the Waarre C sands, the main gas reservoir in the Otway basin, in the form of a flat spot.
“3D Energi has long recognised the potential for a significant overlooked prospective resource at Monarch given the size of the structure, the significant noise masking the seismic reflections and amplitudes in the original data, and the encouraging signs of Direct Hydrocarbon Indicators in adjacent prospects leading up to the La Bella gas discovery,” 3d Energi executive chairman Noel Newell said.
“By utilising the latest state-of-the-art reprocessing technology for the La Bella Reprocessing Project, the Joint Venture has delivered significant improvements in image quality that will support the maturation of Monarch, which is now a material part of the VIC/P79 exploration portfolio.”
The Monarch Prospect is a tilted fault block located on the margin of the Voluta Trough, a major depression directly adjacent to the Mussel Platform, with the two being separated by the northwest-southeast trending Tartwaup-Mussel Fault System.
“While we are still in the early stages of evaluating the new data, today 3D Energi estimates the prospective resource base in the permit has increased by another 316 Bcf (gross best estimate recoverable),” Newell said.
Collectively, the near-field exploration targets identified to date are demonstrating the strong potential for a commercial gas project, given their proximity to infrastructure.
“It is also worth pointing out that VIC/P79 covers a very large area, and we believe there is excellent prospectivity in the western half of the permit, currently not covered by 3D seismic,” Newell said.
“The reprocessed seismic data, in combination with the recently processed datasets in T/49P, marks a significant step forward in our ability to mature our portfolio of prospects across the Otway.”
Drilling locations can now be assessed and matured across all areas of both blocks as the company and its Joint Venture partner ConocoPhillips Australia progress towards the exploration drilling program in 2025.
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