Emperor Energy (ASX:EMP) has received Well Environment Plan approval from the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) for the Environment Plan covering drilling of the Judith-2 Appraisal Well, marking a major milestone for the project.
The key drilling approval by NOPSEMA clears an important regulatory hurdle on the path to drilling in the offshore Gippsland Basin, and the timing is in line with the company’s previous guidance.
The approval arrives shortly after Emperor executed a term sheet agreement to secure the VALARIS 107 jack-up drilling rig, with drilling of the Judith-2 Appraisal Well targeted for April 2027.
Judith-2 has two objectives, the first being to appraise the 166 Bcf 2C Contingent recoverable gas resource discovered by Shell in 1989 within the Judith Structure.
The second is to explore a deeper target: 142 Bcf of P50 Prospective recoverable gas resource in the Longtom gas sands that sit beneath the contingent resource.
The Longtom gas sands have yet to be penetrated within the Judith structure and form part of the overall 1.859 Tcf of P50 Prospective recoverable gas resource.
Across four reservoir sands, the total ranges from a low 1C estimate of 49.6 Bscf to a best 2C estimate of 165.7 Bscf and a high 3C estimate of 259.8 Bscf, confirmed through an independent assessment.
Emperor Sand 3 is the largest contributor, with a best estimate of 85.2 Bscf.
Emperor Sand 2 follows at 41.8 Bscf, then Emperor Sand 1 at 23.4 Bscf and Emperor Sand 4 at 15.4 Bscf.
The audited volumes draw on deterministic 3D model scenarios, with additional uncertainty checks run on 2D maps showing reservoir tops and bases, fluid contacts and petrophysical parameters.
The totals are an arithmetic summation of Contingent Resources by category.
The independent assessment also covers unrisked Prospective Resources across the greater Judith area of VIC/P47, covering the Judith and Longtom sandstones, with the total ranging from 447 Bcf at P90 to 1,859 Bcf at P50 and 3,616 Bcf at P10.
Judith Deep, the target of the deeper exploration component of Judith-2, carries a P50 estimate of 142 Bcf.
Among the other fault blocks, the South area shows the highest P50 estimate at 469 Bcf, followed by North-East at 379 Bcf, Central at 364 Bcf and North at 252 Bcf.
West is assessed at 135 Bcf and North-West at 118 Bcf.
With the Environment Plan accepted and a rig secured under a term sheet, Emperor has now put two of the main building blocks for the Judith-2 campaign in place.
The well is designed to firm up the existing contingent resource while testing the deeper Longtom sands for the first time at Judith.
A successful result could add to the substantial prospective volumes already identified across the structure.
