Equinor has been granted a new exploration permit – WA-542-P in the Northern Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia by the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administration (NOPTA) for an initial period of six years.

The Norwegian oil and gas giant holds 100% ownership in the permit located in Australia’s northwest shelf.

Located west of the recently made Dorado oil discovery, the WA-542-P exploration permit spans            4,815 square kilometers. It lies nearly 100 kilometers from the Australian coast and is contained in water depth ranges of 80-350 meters.

Equinor will be conducting geological and geophysical studies, reprocessing of seismic data and new 3D seismic acquisition for the WA-542-P exploration permit.

Paul McCafferty – senior vice president for Equinor international offshore exploration said: “We are pleased with this award which expands our position in Australia with an exploration opportunity in a proven basin. An interesting new liquids play has emerged in this part of Australia’s northwest shelf and we are looking forward to assessing the potential in our new permit.”

The Norwegian oil and gas giant has been operating in Australia since 2012. The company has two exploration permits – EPP39 and EPP40 in the Great Australian Bight, located off the coast of South Australia.

Location of Equnior’s WA-542-P exploration permit in the Carnarvon Basin, Australia. Equinor ASA.

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