Mineral Resources (MinRes) last week announced another significant natural gas discovery in the onshore Perth Basin.
Drilling began at North Erregulla Deep-1 in Western Australia’s Mid West region in April, with successful exploration to a depth of more than 4,000 metres finding a substantial gas reservoir.
The find is the second significant gas discovery in two years, and after drilling only three wells, following the impressive Lockyer Deep-1 discovery in 2021.
An oil zone was also identified in the secondary objective Dongara Sandstone at a depth of about 3,000 metres.
Future appraisal wells will further define the resource potential, with a well test to be completed in July 2023 to evaluate gas flow rates and composition.
MinRes Managing Director Chris Ellison said the success at North Erregulla Deep-1 was another stride forward in the Perth Basin exploration campaign.
“While further work is needed to confirm its scale, North Erregulla shows all the signs of making a huge contribution to our energy business, which will help us get into production as quickly as possible,” Mr Ellison said.
“Production at North Erregulla and Lockyer will help transition our mining operations to low-cost natural gas and renewables, driving our decarbonisation strategy and further diversifying our business.
“Congratulations to our Energy team and everyone involved in achieving this result.”
Mr Ellison also confirmed the appointment of experienced Darren Hardy as Chief Executive, Energy, to lead MinRes’ energy transition strategy.
“His immediate focus is the successful completion of the Perth Basin drilling campaign and the development of these discoveries into production,” Mr Ellison said.
Since returning to MinRes in 2018, Mr Hardy has held several senior positions, including Project Director of the Onslow Iron project in the Pilbara.
