Buru Q4 oil sales deliver $3.7 million revenue
Perth-based Buru Energy posted $3.7 million over the December period after exporting about 73,000 barrels of crude oil from the company’s Ungani oilfield near Broome in WA. The figure represents a 50 per share of the producer’s operating interest in the conventional field with the balance filling the coffers of project partner Roc Oil Company.
In other quarterly highlights from the field, the producer tabled a gross oil production count of around 50,000 barrels and posted an average field production rate of 540 barrels of oil per day.
Ungani is located approximately 90 kilometers east of Broome and includes approximately half a dozen production wells along with a host of associated facilities. Oil produced in the zone is mobilized by truck to the port of Wyndham in the Kimberly where it is stored in an 80,000-barrel tank before being bought by BP Singapore and exported to refineries in Southeast Asia.
The Ungani oil field forms part of the larger onshore canning basin – a zone the state’s Department of Mines, Industry, Regulation and Safety, or “DMIRS,” has flagged as significantly underexploited for hydrocarbons. The onshore segment of the basin covers an area of approximately 530,000 square kilometers in central-north WA and is considered by DMIRS to have potential for oil and shale gas resources.
Buru also advanced its cleaner-burning gas initiatives in the basin over the period, with the oil producer working to protect the value of its Rafael gas and condensate discovery about 50km east of Ungani following JV partner Origin Energy’s decided to pull out of the project in September last year. Buru management says Origin’s decision to walk away from the project has led to a significant delay in commercializing Rafael and now plans are helping the company move quickly to tie up a new project partner to take the gas play forward drive.
Natural gas plays a massive role in the current energy landscape and is seen as a mainstay in the global power space due to its cleaner burning properties, abundant reserves and transportation flexibility. The commodity is usually mobilized domestically via pipelines, but can be cooled and converted into liquefied natural gas and shipped internationally. Natural gas has also been designated by the International Energy Agency to play an important role in the clean energy revolution due to the material’s ability to work with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
ASX-listed Buru was also active with its full hydrogen subsidiary 2H Resources during the quarter, advancing the geological assessment of its South Australian acreage prospective for the commodity. The program culminated in a recent independent assessment by RISC Advisory which deemed the zone to be capable of 343 million kilograms of hydrogen.
The discovery follows a recent study by global accounting firm Ernst and Young which suggests that natural hydrogen could be one of the best tools used to reduce the harmful effects of climate change. The energy source sits on the opposite spectrum of man-made hydrogen and is formed by sunlight converting water into hydrogen.
Hydrogen can be used to power a host of fuel cell-based vehicles, including trucks and drilling rigs, and has recently made headlines following mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forest’s decision to invest heavily in “green” hydrogen – a man-made alternative that uses renewable energy sources to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Buru seems to have all his bases covered with his hands on just about every commodity needed to power the economy. After posting another profitable quarter in which $3.7 million was generated from oil sales alone, the company could be poised for a flurry of 2023 activity — especially if it secures a new project partner for its Rafael gas project.
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