Amadeus Basin

Amadeus Basin – Onshore Australia

Cue has interests in three production assets, Mereenie, Palm Valley, and Dingo Fields, situated in the Amadeus Basin within onshore Northern Territory. These assets were acquired from Central Petroleum, with the acquisition process finalised on 1 October 2021, and an effective date of 1 July 2020.

As of 30 June 2023, Cue has reported 3.6 mmboe of 2P reserves from the Mereenie, Palm Valley and Dingo Field. Details can be found in the 30 June 2023 Reserves and Resources Report.

Cue holds the following interests:

Mereenie	7.5%
Palm Valley	15%
Dingo	15%

Mereenie gas and oil field (OL4 and OL5 production licences)

The Mereenie field produces gas which is transported through the Northern Gas pipeline to serve the Eastern Australia gas market. Oil and condensate extracted from the field are transported by trucks to Port Bonython in South Australia for export via tankers, primarily to refineries in Singapore. Since its discovery in 1963, the field has seen the drilling of 71 wells, and currently, 49 of them are operational. 

The hydrocarbon accumulation is contained in an elongate four-way dip anticline. Reservoirs comprise a series of interbedded sandstones of the Pacoota Formation. More than twenty separate conventional reservoir sands have been identified and correlated across the field, with typical individual net sand thicknesses of less than 5 metres. The Mereenie field has a gross hydrocarbon interval of more than 800 metres, with a gas cap and an oil rim.

A 12-month Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) has been executed between the Mereenie Joint venturer partners and Twin Bridges LLC, a private US company specialising in helium appraisal and production, to progress a helium recovery unit (HRU) at the Mereenie field towards a final investment decision. The HRU is proposed to be sized to extract up to 60,000 scf/day of helium from the Mereenie natural gas, which contains over 0.2% helium.

Participating interests in the OL4 and OL5 production licences are:

Central Petroleum (operator)	25%
Echelon Resources	42.5%
Horizon Oil	25%
Cue Energy	7.5%

 

Palm Valley gas field (OL3 Production Licence)  

The Palm Valley field is 100 km west of Alice Springs and produces gas, which is transported through the  Amadeus and Northern Gas pipeline and sold into the Northern Territory and Eastern Australia gas markets.

Production at the Palm Valley field commenced in 1983, and there are currently four active gas production wells situated within the extensive anticlinal structure, spanning approximately 29 kilometers in length and 14 kilometers in width.

In December 2022, the PV-12 production well successfully tied in, contributing significantly to the overall production.

Participating interests in the OL3 production licence include:

 

Central Petroleum (operator)	50%
Echelon Resources	35%
Cue Energy	15%

 

 

Dingo gas field (L7 Production Licence)

The Dingo field produces gas, which is processed at the Brewer Estate processing facility located near Alice Springs. It is transported via a pipeline to the Owen Springs Power Station, serving as the primary electricity source for Alice Springs.

Since its discovery in 1985, four wells have been drilled in the field.

The well also contains a production target in the Arumbera sandstone.

Participating interests in the L7 production licence are:

 

Central Petroleum (operator)	50%
Echelon Resources	35%
Cue Energy	15%