Tamaska Oil & Gas is turning to the Carnarvon Basin

After more than a decade focusing on North American petroleum projects, Tamaska Oil & Gas (ASX:TMK) is now betting that the Talisman Deeps project in the offshore Carnavon Basin, northwest Australia, is a big ticket exploration play.

The company is acquiring a 20 per cent stake in Skye Napoleon, which holds 100 per cent of the Talisman Deeps project.

It has certainly picked a top shelf location as the Carnarvon Basin is home to Australia’s largest oil and gas resources.

Talisman Deeps hosts the Napoleon target, a large potential hydrocarbons accumulation that recent seismic mapping and geotechnical studies indicates is similar to the exciting Dorado oil discovery and the producing Wanaea oil field.

Extensive 3D seismic reprocessing and basin analysis studies are currently underway along with 3D geochemical modelling to evaluate the composition of hydrocarbons and assess their migration and entrapment within the structure.

Preliminary results from the 3D seismic reprocessing has already indicated evidence of reservoir and hydrocarbon charge.

Once this work is completed, which is expected in April, the subsurface interpretation will be completed and an independent risked prospective resource estimate will be calculated.

The Napoloen exploration well is expected to cost about $45m, though detailed well planning and cost estimates are currently being undertaken.

“This is an exceptional opportunity for TMK. Napoleon is large high-quality structure located in a proven productive reservoir in the richest petroleum basin in Australia,” director Joseph Graham said.

“We have undertaken extensive technical work and believe that Napoleon is likely to prove to be an outstanding exploration target with large upside for the participants.

“It has the potential to be one of the most significant and exciting petroleum exploration wells drilled in Australia over the next year.”

Tamaska acquisition terms

Tamaska Oil & Gas is acquiring the 20 per cent stake in Skye Napoleon through the issue of 45 million shares and 45 million performance shares that convert into ordinary shares.

This will occur on the definition of a prospective recoverable resource of more than 120 million barrels of oil equivalent or an authorisation for expenditure in relation to the first exploration well being issued.

It also has the right to convert its 20 per cent stake in Skye Napoleon to a 20 per cent direct stake in the licence.