Santos Ltd, through wholly owned subsidiary Bonaparte Gas & Oil Pty Ltd, increased its interest in retention leases WA-27-R and WA-40-R, located in the Bonaparte Basin, on 11 April 2019.Â  Santos has acquired an additional 54% interest upon the withdrawal of joint venture partner Neptune Energy Bonaparte Pty Ltd which has exited both licences.Â  Santos is now sole holder and operator of the permit.  Neptune Energy had entered the licences in February 2018, when it acquired Engie E&P International.Â  Engie held interest in four licences (WA-27-R, WA-40-R, WA-06-R and NT/RL1) which Neptune acquired interest in, marking its entrance into Australia.Â  Through the transaction, Neptune acquired 60% interest and operatorship of the assets, which contain the proposed Bonaparte LNG project fields - Frigate Deep (WA-40-R), Tern (WA-27-R) and Petrel (WA-06-R / NT/RL1).Â  At this stage, Neptune Energy retains its interest in the Petrel field and licences.  WA-27-R was awarded to Santos Ltd in October 2003.Â  GDF SUEZ, which later changed name to Engie, entered the permit in May 2010.Â  The licence contains the Tern discovery, which was made in August 1971. Â WA-40-R was awarded to Santos and GDF SUEZ in September 2011. It contains the Frigate Deep discovery, which was made in August 2008.Â  The two discoveries are considered part of the Bonaparte LNG Project, alongside Petrel.Â  The fields were initially outlined for a standalone Floating LNG project, but development evaluation has been undertaken and more recently has included looking at the option for tie-back as FLNG was not considered to meet the commercial requirements of the joint venture.  WA-27-R and WA-40-R, which cover areas of 334 sq km and 166 sq km respectively, saw an interest change on 11 April 2019.Â  Santos Ltd now holds 100% interest and operatorship of the licences, with 65% held through wholly owned subsidiary Bonaparte Gas & Oil Pty Ltd.
Australia (Northern Gippsland Terrace (Gippsland B.)) Sole