On target: Beach is aiming as European gas prices
Beach begins Spanish adventure
Australia’s Beach Petroleum has announced its first move into European markets with the funding of a $3 million seismic survey in Spain that will deliver a stake in four onshore tenements owned by Serica Energy.
Beach Petroleum will farm into a 25% interest in four highly prospective gas bearing tenements in Spain’s Ebro basin, the company said.
The Ebro basin lies in the north-east of the country, south of the Pyrenees Mountains which separate it from the Aquitaine basin in south-western France.
The Aquitaine basin is an oil and gas producing region with recoverable reserves presently estimated at around 11 trillion cubic feet and 470 million barrels of oil.
“We have seen a number of prospective areas close to prolific hydrocarbon production where modern seismic technology can be used to unlock hidden opportunities,” Beach's managing director Reg Nelson said.
Nelson said he believed the Spanish farm-in would help Beach in its bid to become a long-term supplier to Europe's high demand, high paying power markets.
“High gas prices and very strong demand in the European market provide a powerful commercial incentive to explore for gas in this region,” he said.
“We believe that Australian domestic gas prices must move towards global prices in the next few years, but the ability to discover large gas fields internationally where demand is high and prices are two to three times greater is most compelling,” Nelson added.