Carnarvon Energy Upgrades Bedout Basin Prospective Resource Inventory

Carnarvon Energy (ASX: CVN) has reported a 92% increase in its Bedout Sub-basin prospect resource inventory following completion of the Bedout Mega-Merge seismic reprocessing interpretation.

The upgrade lifts gross unrisked Pmean (the average expected resource outcome) prospective resources across the Bedout joint venture portfolio to 6,256 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) across 130 prospects.

Carnarvon’s net unrisked Pmean prospective resource has increased to 1,021 mmboe, with the portfolio now estimated to contain 17.5 trillion cubic feet of gas and 3.1 billion barrels of oil.

The resource update comes as the joint venture prepares for an exploration drilling campaign scheduled to start from April 2027, subject to rig timing and customary approvals.

Mega-Merge Drives Upgrade

Carnarvon completed its interpretation of the Bedout Mega-Merge seismic reprocessing project across permits WA-435-P, WA-436-P, WA-437-P, and WA-438-P on Australia’s North-West Shelf.

The company attributed the resource increase to improved subsurface imaging from the seamless integration of multiple high-quality seismic surveys.

Prospective resources remain undiscovered accumulations and carry both discovery and development risk, with further exploration, appraisal, and evaluation required before any recoverable hydrocarbons can be confirmed.

The updated inventory builds on the existing Dorado and Pavo discoveries and reinforces Carnarvon’s view that the lightly explored Bedout remains under-tested.

Drilling Targets Shortlisted

The Bedout joint venture has secured the Transocean Equinox semi-submersible rig for one firm well and an option for a second contingent well.

Four prospects have been shortlisted for the campaign—with Ara, Yuma, Hutton, and Goats Eye collectively containing around 851mmboe in gross unrisked Pmean prospective resources.

Carnarvon reported that these four leading prospects account for approximately 14% of the total risked portfolio on a Pmean basis.

The Bedout joint venture has achieved a 67% exploration success rate to date, supported by modern 3D seismic data and a small number of exploration wells across the basin.

Ara Leads Firm Well

Ara, the most likely firm well candidate for 2027, is located about 80 kilometres north of the Dorado field.

The prospect is estimated to contain 191mmboe of gross unrisked Pmean recoverable hydrocarbons and carries a 37% chance of geological success.

Carnarvon expects Ara-1 to test two independent play systems, including a primary stratigraphic pinch-out trap in the Middle Triassic Archer Formation and a secondary Late Triassic Cuvier Member target.

Success at Ara would materially de-risk Yuma, which contains 189mmboe of gross unrisked Pmean recoverable hydrocarbons and shares similar Archer play elements.

Carbonate Play Offers Upside

Hutton and Goats Eye are alternative contingent well candidates targeting the untested Late Permian carbonate play system in WA-436-P.

Hutton is estimated to contain 347mmboe of gross unrisked Pmean recoverable hydrocarbons and carries a 20% chance of geological success.

Goats Eye is estimated to contain 124 million barrels of oil equivalent of gross unrisked Pmean recoverable hydrocarbons, with an associated 23% chance of geological success.

A discovery in either carbonate target would open a new exploration fairway across WA-436-P, which contains a substantial portion of the Bedout Sub-basin’s mapped prospective resources.

Chief executive officer Philip Huizenga said the Bedout had the potential to become Australia’s “next Carnarvon Basin”, with the scale of the company’s exploration portfolio “only just beginning to be tested”.

“With our next phase of drilling on track to commence from April 2027, we are poised to start unlocking a portion of the substantial potential that this work has identified across the Bedout,” he added.