ADX Energy bags funding partner to build on Austrian shallow gas success
ADX Energy (ASX: ADX) has brought London-listed Empyrean Energy aboard as an industry partner to help bankroll its next Upper Austrian shallow gas well, with the partner to fund 20 per cent of its upcoming GOLD-1 well for a 10 per cent economic interest in the surrounding GOLD Cluster Area within ADX’s ADX-AT-II licence.
The binding heads of agreement reduces ADX’s funding load as it prepares to spud GOLD-1 in the fourth quarter, hot on the heels of its HOCH-1 gas discovery, 30km west of the proposed well. GOLD-1 will be the second of three wells, with SCHOE-1 waiting in the wings.
The partner will pay a non-refundable €50,000 (A$81,000) option fee for exclusivity until October 16 while funding and an Energy Investment Agreement (EIA) are finalised. Once the EIA is inked, Empyrean will stump up €555,400 (A$900,000) towards GOLD-1, - 20 per cent of the €2.777M (A$4.5M) drilling, completion and testing capex cost - to satisfy its earn-in.
After meeting its earn-in obligations, Empyrean will join a partnership covering exploration, development and production across the GOLD Cluster Area, giving it exposure to multiple prospects surrounding GOLD. From there, the new partner will carry its proportionate share of ongoing costs, while ADX keeps its hands firmly on the wheel as operator.
ADX is already an established Austrian oil and gas producer, operating the Anshof oil field in Upper Austria alongside producing assets in the Vienna Basin. That business generates cash flow on the ground while it chases a different shallow-gas play across HOCH, GOLD and SCHOE in Upper Austria.
GOLD-1 carries a mean prospective resource of 8.3 billion cubic feet of gas (Bcf), alongside HOCH-1’s pre-drill mean estimate of 8Bcf, while SCHOE-1 has also been assigned a multi-Bcf mean prospective resource.
The upcoming well’s spot in the queue behind HOCH-1 has gained extra weight after a recent commingled test across four zones at the HOCH-1 discovery flowed water-free gas at an average of 3.15 million cubic feet per day, equivalent to 548 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Following the testing at HOCH-1, the next target in the drive towards cash flow independence and increased corporate relevance is the drilling of the GOLD-1 shallow gas well, followed by drilling at the SCHOE-1 gas well. The combination of HOCH, GOLD and SCHOE are potentially capable of delivering approximately 1000 barrels of oil equivalent net to ADX. ADX Energy executive chairman Ian Tchacos
Next up, the two companies intend to finalise the GOLD Cluster EIA by mid-October, clearing the way for the earn-in funding and fourth-quarter spud. Any unused portion of Empyrean’s GOLD-1 earn-in funding will go towards its share of a subsequent well within the GOLD Cluster. SCHOE-1 is next in line. ADX says it will update the market as the transaction is finalised.
HOCH-1 has been the pathfinder for a repeatable shallow-gas play targeting biogenic methane in Miocene sandstones, drawing on nearby Hall Formation fields that have produced more than 233Bcf despite reservoir sands often being less than 2m thick. Some individual accumulations have topped 10Bcf.
ADX's strategy with HOCH, GOLD and SCHOE involves targeting analogous channel and basin-floor fan systems mapped on 3D seismic. While SCHOE sits immediately south of HOCH-1, GOLD represents a bigger step-out to the east and will be drilled first, allowing ADX to test the geological model across a broader footprint.
The drilling queue does not necessarily end with SCHOE-1. ADX is maturing further shallow-gas prospects based on the same geological model across its Upper Austrian acreage, with its wider portfolio exceeding 60Bcf, potentially providing more targets for the drilling pipeline if the three-well sequence continues to deliver.
The commercial kicker for its Upper Austrian shallow-gas play is infrastructure. The prospects are clustered in a mature petroleum province just 2km from open-access gas pipeline infrastructure, allowing successful wells to share development infrastructure and take a shorter route to market.
The domestic gas hunt comes as Europe juggles energy security, declining mature production and dependence on imported supply, adding strategic weight to any local gas supply that can reach market quickly.
With the final investment agreement due to be locked in next month, attention will turn to GOLD-1 and its planned fourth-quarter spud. A second discovery would give ADX the chance to turn HOCH-1 from a standalone success into the opening act of a broader gas production hub in the heart of Europe’s energy-hungry market.
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