Santos Ltd was awarded exploration licence WA-541-P, located in the Beagle sub-basin, North Carnavon Basin, on 26 September 2019. The licence, which was originally offered as W18-4 in the 2018 Offshore Federal Acreage Release, covers an area ofÂ  6964.26 sq. km and has been awarded for a period of six years. The license will expire or be eligible renewal on 25 September 2025.  Work commitments have been assigned for the duration of the permits validity. During the first two years, Santos are committed to undertaking, processing and reprocessing new and existing 2D cubed and 3D seismic data along with well planning, with a total estimated expenditure of around AUD 31 million. A total of three exploration wells are to be drilled, two in the third permit year at a cost of around AUD 56 million and one in the final year, at an estimated cost of around AUD 20 million. The total estimated cost for the work programme is around AUD 119.8 million.   WA-541-P is the third exploration licence to be awarded from the 2018 Offshore Federal Acreage Release, and the first in the North Carnarvon Basin. VIC/P75 and VIC/P76 awarded in early September 2019. The license lies on trend with the recent Dorado discovery, which lies in the adjacent permit.   WA-541-P covers an area of 6964.26 sq. km and was awarded on 26 September 2019. Participants in the licence are Santos Ltd (50% interest and operatorship) and BP Developments Australia Pty Ltd (50% interest).
Santos op & BP and were officially awarded exploration permit WA-541-P (4855kmÂ²) in the offshore Beagle Sub-basin. Due to the proximity to the Dorado o&gas and cond. discovery, a record 7 qualifying bids were received.