Tap Oil Says Tallaganda May Hold 500 Bcf of Natural Gas

   By Ross Kelly 
 

SYDNEY--A discovery made last year by BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) and Apache Corp. (APA) off the coast of Western Australia state could contain around 500 billion cubic feet of natural gas, joint venture partner Tap Oil Ltd. (TAP.AU) said Tuesday.

Although significant, a resource of this size wouldn't be large enough to support construction of a standalone liquefied natural gas, or LNG, export terminal on the coast.

LNG terminals typically require at least 3 trillion-4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to be economically viable. The discovery, however, could be combined with others nearby to support any developments.

Tap owns 20% of the permit containing the discovery, called Tallaganda. The exploration well was completed in April by BHP, which has a 55% stake in the permit. Apache holds the remaining 25%.

Tap said there are a number of other prospects that could be considered for further drilling to aggregate gas volumes. However, it said there are currently no plans to drill further wells in the area during 2013.

Shares in Tap Oil had risen 0.8% by 0117 GMT in Sydney, in line with the broader market.

Write to Ross Kelly at [e-mail]

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