Triangle spuds Perth Basin oil play eyeing 21-million-barrel prize

Shares in Triangle Energy surged 11 per cent today to 0.5 of a cent on a huge turnover after the company started drilling its hotly anticipated Becos-1 oil exploration well in Western Australia’s Perth Basin.

The rods for the conventional well started spinning two days ago to target a fault-trapped rock layer called the Bookara Sandstone from the Triassic period. The company estimates there could be 1 to 21 million barrels of oil (MMbbl) in the pay zone, with a best guess of 5MMbbl. 

Triangle owns half of the project - alongside Strike Energy and Echelon Resources with a 25 per cent share each, meaning Triangle’s share of the spoils would be 2.5M barrels. 

Becos-1 is set to plunge between 700 metres and 800m to chase oil in the primary Bookara and secondary Arranoo sandstone targets. The drill bit will continue all the way down to the basement at a target depth of 1164m to test five deeper, untouched Early Permian layers, including the highly prospective Kingia formation. Each zone potentially hides valuable hydrocarbons.

While the chance of geological success sits at 20 per cent, the payoff could be massive. Any deeper Kingia Formation reservoirs could sweeten the pot even further.

Triangle says the campaign at Becos-1 will be fast and focused, with drilling expected to take just seven days. Add a few more days for logging and the whole operation should be wrapped up in 12 days flat.

Triangle Energy Global managing director Conrad Todd said: “We are excited to spud the Becos-1 well as the second well in our Perth Basin campaign which demonstrates our continued commitment to exploration in this highly prospective basin.”

Tucked into the northern Perth Basin’s Dandaragan Trough - a region known for its hydrocarbon riches - Becos-1 is a prime oil target. The principal Bookara and Arranoo sandstone reservoir targets were laid down in the early Triassic period and sit 15 kilometres south of the Wye-1 well, which Key Petroleum drilled in 1996. 

That well hit dry gas and flowed an impressive 7M cubic feet per day. Since Becos-1 lies down-dip from Wye-1, the new well is being pitched as an oil rather than a gas play. 

Triangle has deep roots in the Perth Basin and operates the nearby Mt Horner production licence, which is surrounded by structurally similar and highly attractive prospects.

The area shares its geological DNA with WA’s biggest gas fields - Waitsia, Senecio and Lockyer Deep - which were all recently scooped up by Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting in a $1.1 billion blockbuster deal with Mineral Resources. 

MinRes had previously revealed maiden numbers for the Lockyer gas and Erregulla oil projects, pegging them as one of the largest onshore discoveries in the State. The projects host a monster 412 billion cubic feet of gas and 2 million barrels of condensate.

Apart from its interest in WA, Triangle has planted a serious flag in the United Kingdom’s offshore North Sea. The company holds a 50 per cent stake in four blocks that host the Cragganmore gas field, along with another 50 per cent share in nine blocks in the Outer Moray Firth. 

All eyes are now on the UK’s environmental watchdog, OPRED, as Triangle awaits fresh emissions guidance and a long-anticipated update to government policy on oil and gas exploration.

With the drill bit now spinning at Becos-1, Triangle is charging ahead in one of WA’s most successful onshore basins. Market watchers shouldn’t have to wait long for a glimpse of its future, as the high stakes well could deliver big news in just days.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au