Squadron JV lifts Canning Basin stake

A joint venture between Minderoo Group-owned Squadron Energy and Goshawk Energy has been awarded a series of petroleum tenements in the Canning Basin.

The JV said it now held eight licences in the Canning Basin, after receiving three additional tenements, across 75,000 square kilometres.

The Squadron Goshawk joint venture (SGJV) is planning to undertake airborne surveys over its tenements, along with exploration work in 2019.

Goshawk owns a 20 per cent stake in the SGJV and is the operator.

Goshawk Energy general manager Andrew Kirk said the JV had been building a presence in the Canning Basin since 2012.

“With multi-TCF gas and multi-hundred-million-barrel oil plays, the Canning Basin has the potential to be a new world-class petroleum province providing long-term energy security for the nation,” he said.

“We’re very excited to be building such a strong presence in the region.”

“We have taken a countercyclical investment strategy, progressively building our position in the basin following the departure of major E&P companies due to the oil price collapse from mid-2014.”

Squadron chief executive Stuart Johnson said the company was delighted to have built up its position with Goshawk in the Canning Basin.

The onshore Canning Basin covers an area of about 530,000sq square kilometres in central-northern Western Australia