Captivate Energy Alaska, a wholly owned subsidiary of ASX-listed oil and gas explorer 88 Energy could soon pick up ten leases spanning over 25,000 contiguousacres in Alaska's North Slope.
The acquisition follows a formal bidding process in that saw the company win the rights to acquire the tenure that boasts historical hydrocarbon shows and an existing 3D dataset which could expedite future work.
The formal award of the new leases is anticipated to be completed next year following a regulatory approval process.
Captivate's 10 new leases have been collectively named "Project Leonis” and the company says its new assets boast premier commercial development opportunities with close proximities to a pair of major highways.
Importantly, the newly acquired ground is laden with exploration upside given the company already has its hands on a suite of seismic data known as Storm that was acquired over the tenure.
The prospectivity of Project Leonis is also underlined by oil and gas sniffs encountered during the drilling of a legacy exploration well known as Hemi Springs Unit #3 in 1985.
Historical analysis of data derived from the well suggests the bore held over 60m of low resistivity bypassed log pay within a reservoir named the Upper Schrader Bluff, or "USB". The review also suggests the reservoir offered solid porosity and oil shows over the 60m section.
Pay in terms of oil and gas is defined as the portion of a reservoir that contains hydrocarbons which can be produced viably.
88 Energy says the nearby Orion, Polaris, West Sak, and Milne Point oil fields have all been successfully developed using the USB reservoir.
A thorough internal analysis and interpretation of Storm's 3D seismic data demonstrates a distinct seismic amplitude at the USB prospect level in addition to a significant seismic-well relationship.
Fortunately, the prospect looks to be constrained by faults on three sides that might act as a trapping mechanism. The potential of the area will be further assessed with the next phase of working aiming to finalise a prospective exploration program and schedule for the project.
According to 88 Energy Managing Director Ashley Gilbert, the awarding of the leases demonstrates the company's dedication to the continued exploration of Alaska’s North Slope.
The explorer has its foot on several assets prospective for oil in the arctic region including Project Peregrine, the Umiat Field, Yukon and Project Icewine where the company recently spudded the Hickory-1 well.
88 Energy has high expectations for Project Icewine following a recent evaluation that suggested the asset’s eastern district holds a prospective one billion barrel-plus oil resource.
The price of crude oil is currently trending at around US$86 per barrel and is expected to touch US$90 by the end of the quarter according to analytical data provider Trading Economics.
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