Bass Oil Targets East Coast Gas Market Entry with Vanessa Acquisition and Kiwi Development

Bass Oil (ASX: BAS) is positioning for a broader production base as it targets first sales into the East Coast Gas Market (ECGM) by the end of 2026 and advances additional gas and oil opportunities across the Cooper Basin and Indonesia.

The near-term gas push centres on the Vanessa Gas field acquisition, which includes an existing production well, processing equipment and a pipeline connection to the Cooper Basin network.

Bass is pairing that pathway with development of the wholly owned Kiwi gas field and appraisal of deeper coal gas potential within PEL 182, while Indonesian drilling has identified new oil sand and a westerly extension of the Bunian field.

The group had net cash of A$3.2 million at 30 June 2026, and is reviewing multiple funding options to accelerate Kiwi as it seeks to build production and cash flow from its wider portfolio.

Vanessa Opens Gas Market

Project planning is under way to return Vanessa to production, with Bass expecting the acquisition to provide a fast-track route into the ECGM and the vendor contributing towards rehabilitation.

The field also gives Bass access to conventional and tight gas zones that could be targeted through fracture stimulation, alongside deeper unconventional gas potential in the surrounding acreage.

Studies across wholly owned PEL 182 indicate a best estimate of 21 trillion cubic feet of gas in place and 845 million barrels of condensate in place within the Patchawarra Trough.

Those quantities relate to prospective and in-place resources that remain subject to discovery and development risk.

Further exploration, appraisal, and evaluation is required before potentially recoverable volumes can be established.

Kiwi Commercialisation Pathway

The Kiwi field has already surpassed Bass's economic screening threshold after production testing delivered strong gas and condensate rates from the Callamurra gas sand.

Development approval would more than double Bass's booked reserves, while a South Australian government grant of A$3.5m is intended to support the pipeline project needed to underpin commercialisation.

Reprocessed 2026 seismic data has improved definition of the gas sand event, faults, and basement architecture around Kiwi, helping Bass refine its interpretation of the broader Triassic gas play.

The work indicates distributive fluvial system sands around Kiwi may be thin but widely dispersed, while larger axial channel system sands are interpreted farther from the discovery.

Bass is continuing geological and geochemical work to test the source and distribution of hydrocarbons, with further follow-up opportunities emerging from its study of the play.

Oil Growth to Add Near-Term Cash

In Indonesia, recent drilling has found a new oil sand and highlighted a westerly extension of the Bunian field, which Bass expects to support a significant increase in oil production.

The Bunian 6 well is planned as a further production and cash flow driver as the company continues to operate producing oil assets in Indonesia and the Cooper Basin.

That near-term oil growth sits alongside the planned Vanessa start-up and Kiwi development, giving Bass several potential sources of additional production across different time frames.

Bass's stated strategy is to use rising cash flows from existing and new production to support a portfolio spanning producing assets, development projects and further appraisal and exploration targets.