COMMERCIAL B.H.P.-Esso Raises Oil Estimates

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31881, 8 January 1969, Page 14

COMMERCIAL B.H.P.-Esso Raises Oil Estimates

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

SYDNEY, January 7.

The Broken Hill Proprietary Company, Ltd, Esso oil partnership has announced a 25 per cent increase in estimates of reserves at its two major Gippsland offshore oil fields. Kingfish and Halibut, reports the Australian “Financial Review.”

The partners announced that reserves were now estimated at 1500 m barrels compared with the estimate of 1200 m barrels in May last year.

The increase is in line with industry and much market speculation that previous estimates were conservative. But it certainly heightens the chances that production from the two fields will be increased, offsetting last month’s downward revision to production levels from the smaller Barracouta and Mar-

i tin fields, says the newspaper, t Any significant increase in • production from Kingfish and Halibut would bring Austra- > iia nearer to the prospect of i self-sufficiently in oil. > Most estimates have held t for the Gippsland fields, with > other producing areas, the i promise of bringing Austra- • lian oil production to between

60 and 70 per cent of consumption by the end of 1970. 1 Existing production estimates for the Kingfish field is' 170,000 barrels a day and for Halibut 100,000 barrels a day. These estimates were based on combined reserves of 1200 m barrels at the two

These estimates were based on combined reserves of 1200 m barrels at the two fields.