Transerv, Norwest offtake deal

TranServ Energy will be upping its interest in the Perth Basin after it inked a farm-in and drilling agreement with Norwest Energy for the offshore Xanadu Prospect, and will buy a 4.7 per cent stake in the junior for $200,000.

Located off the coast near the Jingamia and Cliff Head oilfields, Xanadu could hold up to 160 million barrels of recoverable oil.

Transerv said it would aim for drilling to take place in 2017, with two other offshore permits in line for potential drilling as part of the deal.

It adds to Transerv’s existing position in the Perth Basin with the Warro project, which it estimates holds between 3 trillion and 4 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas.

Transerv’s share purchase will be part of an $800,000 raising by the company, all at an issue price of 0.2 cents per share.

Around 37.5 per cent of that raising will be through sophisticated and professional investors, while a similar portion will be raised between two company directors, Henry Kennedy and Ronald Currie.

That will be used to get three Perth Basin prospects to what the company calls “drill ready status”, including Lockyer Deep and Arrowsmith.

In May, Transerv had said it would be a potential buyer of Origin Energy’s Perth Basin assets, which were on the market.

New boss

A further move at Norwest was the promotion of asset manager Shelley Robertson to chief executive.

Ms Robertson has been at the company for five years.

Norwest chairman Michael Fry said she had shown outstanding commitment to finding the company a path forward in the current market.

He predicted the company would be involved in three drilling opportunities on the back of the deal with Transerv.

Shares in Norwest Energy increased 50 per cent to 0.3 cents each, while Transerv was up 6 per cent to 1.8 cents per share.