Carnarvon Petroleum said it was continuing with Dorado Project development as planned, with engineering and pre-FEED work streams being advanced in spite of corona virus upheavals.
The Perth-based explorer said current market conditions associated with the COVID-19 virus and lower oil price environment had created challenging business conditions, with many planned seismic acquisition programs in the 2020 calendar year expected to be deferred until market conditions improve and vessel logistics were not constrained by health issues.
High-quality asset, low-cost production
However, the company was striving to keep its plans on track.
Carnarvon managing director and CEO Adrian Cook said: “The Dorado field is a high-quality asset that is expected to have a low cost of production.
“So, while the current market conditions provide challenges for business, progressing key assets like the Dorado field ensures Carnarvon and the operator (Santos) have important options for a timely development in the future.”
The company said work which had begun on the refinement of prospects for exploration drilling within the Keraudren 3D seismic area were also continuing, with the drilling of these wells in 2021 likely to be dependent on improving market conditions.
Carnarvon said it was in a strong financial position with a cash balance of $119 million and no debt as at December 31, 2019, ensuring it was “well placed to support the operator of the Dorado development.”
The company pointed out that Santos had described development work at the Dorado project as “minimal relative to the overall cost of the field development.”
