The whole story has huge upside potential.
Management seem very astute, the next WPL in the making.;) Nearly 400 million cash in the bank and upside every which way you look at it and of course, a potential takeover contender.
AWE Ltd is an Australian oil and gas exploration and production company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).
The company was formed to appraise oil and gas discoveries in its initial asset portfolio and to build a significant international petroleum exploration and development entity through further international asset acquisitions.
AWE's focus is on exploration and appraisal-type assets, in regions of proven prospectivity and where there is a high chance of commercial success. This focus includes currently marginal fields, whose worth may be improved by innovative appraisal and development approaches.
Following the merger with ARC Energy in August 2008, AWE gained additional equity in the BassGas and Cliff Head projects and further production interests in the onshore Perth Basin. AWE also added equity interests in some prospective exploration permits and shareholdings in the listed oil and gas explorers, Buru Energy Limited (AWE 15%) and Adelphi Energy Limited (AWE 34%).
AWE currently has five main producing assets:
Tui oil fields - offshore Taranaki basin, New Zealand (AWE 42.5% operator)
BassGas project - offshore Bass Strait, Tasmania (AWE 42.5%)
Cliff Head oil field - offshore Perth basin, Western Australia (AWE 57.5%)
Huge upside potential!
Casino gas field - offshore Otway basin, Victoria (AWE 25%)
Onshore Perth Basin interests, Western Australia (AWE 33-100%)
In addition to its oil and gas producing assets AWE has a number of exploration opportunities both in Australia and overseas.
In early 2006, AWE acquired 42.5% in the Tui Area oil project and some additional oil exploration acreage in the offshore Taranaki basin. The Tui Area oil project started producing on July 30, 2007 and by December 2008 had produced approximately 19.5 million barrels of oil.
Exploration opportunities in New Zealand in the Taranaki basin are being pursued with a view to adding to the reserves base of the Tui project or to discover and develop separate, stand alone fields.
AWE acquired 30% of the undeveloped Yolla field in Bass Strait and brought the field into production in late 2006. Modifications and debottlenecking of the onshore gas plant at Lang Lang in south Gippsland in Victoria in 2007 brought the field to its design capacity. Each year the BassGas project is expected to produce 22 Petajoules of sales gas, 1 million barrels of condensate and 65 thousand tonnes of LP Gas. An aggressive exploration program of prospects close to the Yolla field, starting in 2009, is expected to generate substantial additional gas and liquids resources. Following the ARC merger, AWE's share of the BassGas Project rose to 42.5%
In mid 2003, AWE acquired a 25% interest in VIC/P44, including the Casino gas field, in the offshore Otway basin in Victoria. The Casino field was brought into production in early 2006. The development of the nearby Henry gas field has been approved by the AWE board.
In early 2002 AWE announced the Cliff Head wildcat oil field discovery in the offshore Perth basin just north of Perth in Western Australia. This discovery opened a new play trend which AWE has explored aggressively. Development of the Cliff Head field began in March 2005 with first production in early 2006. Following the ARC merger, AWE's share of the Cliff Head Project rose to 57.5%
AWE opened an office in Indonesia in early 2006 to review exploration and development opportunities. The first exploration venture was consummated in June 2007 and AWE's first well was drilled in the Bulu basin in the Java Sea, approximately 90 kilometres north of Surabaya, East Java, began in early 2008. AWE discovered significant, but non-commercial oil shows in the Lisah 1 well and is drilling a second well seeking substantial gas resources.
AWE intends to pursue additional oil and gas exploration opportunities in Australia and overseas.