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Exploration and Production

IOR Exploration Pty Ltd is the exploration and production arm of the IOR Group of Companies. Founded in 1993, it made the Inland oil field discovery in 1994, which was the largest and significant oil discovery in onshore Australia over the last decade. Together with its joint venture partners, IOR as operator continues to develop the Inland oilfield and has an active exploration program in other Australian petroleum tenements. The exploration tenements in which IOR presently has an interest are:

• ATP548P

This Queensland ATP in the north eastern part of the Eromanga basin surrounds the Inland oilfield discovery.  Geographically, ATP-548P lies on the western margin of the northern Cooper Basin and overlying Eromanga Basin and adjacent to one of the Eromanga Basin's major structural features, the Windorah Trough.   Structural trends are oriented either north-west or north-east, the former being more dominant basinwards, that is, towards the east.  Westwards, the structural trend becomes dominantly northeast-southwest, as typified by the Morney Anticline and Curalle Dome.  Local and regional structural highs along this margin trend are often fault related.  The Inland Field is associated with one such reverse fault-bound anticline.   Further prospects are located along strike on the same reverse fault trend as the Inland Field and as such are considered highly prospective.    Westwards, across the shallowing margin, out of the main basin depocentre, other prospective structures are mapped on trends sub-parallel to the Inland Field trend.   Although located further from the depocentre these too are considered prospective, oil having been recovered on test from the Morney #2 Well. 

Many other leads and prospects have been identified, some of which are now mature for drilling.

• PL 98

The Inland oilfield, which is approximately 230km north-northeast of the Jackson oilfield in south-west Queensland, is situated on an anticline formed on a northwest-southeast trending reverse fault with a large fault independent component.  The main producing horizon is the Hutton Sandstone.  Oil production commenced in July 1994.  There has also been minor oil production from the Namur Sandstone at Inland-1 and from the McKinlay Sandstone in Inland-5.  To date, 12 producing wells have been completed over the Hutton Sandstone.

• ATP269P

This permit surrounds the Kenmore and Bodalla South oil fields and contains the Thylungra 1 Permian gas discovery in the north west corner of the permit. The Bunya 1 gas discovery lies 6.5 km to the north in an adjacent permit. There is small  oil discovery (the Bargie field) currently in production on the eastern boundary of the permit .

The permit is located in the central portion of the Eromanga Basin. Underlying the Jurassic to Cretaceous Eromanga sequence is the Permo-Triassic Cooper Basin. It is considered a prospective permit in a low risk area of the basin and is well covered by seismic.

• ATP259P

This area contained the first oil fields put on production in south west Queensland. Although the permit is relatively mature, the Operator is planning in the current year to carry out an extensive 3D seismic acquisition program over the permit to define future prospects.