PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Senex Energy has entered into a fully underwritten A$150-million debt facility to fund the development of its east coast gas projects and Cooper basin assets.

The debt facility includes a A$125-million senior secured reserve based lending facility with a seven-year tenor and competitive margins, as well as a A$25-million working capital facility.

MD and CEO Ian Davies told shareholders that successfully delivering this funding with the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), represented a major milestone in the execution of the company’s east coast gas strategy.

“Senex has booked proved and probable gas reserves in the Surat basin of over 600 petajoules, equivalent to over 100-million barrels of oil. With an already strong balance sheet, this funding provides the financial wherewithal to rapidly progress to development both Project Atlas and the Western Surat gas project, converting our material reserves position to production.”

Davies said that along with a continuing active drilling programme in the Cooper basin, the investment in the Surat basin gas assets would drive a step-change in production, cash flow and earnings in the near term, and would deliver new gas supply to the east coast of Australia.

Senex in June this year struck an agreement with infrastructure operator Jemena to partner on the accelerated development of Project Atlas, in Queensland, to deliver first gas to the domestic market by late 2019.

Under the agreement, Jemena will build, own and operate a gas processing facility with an initial capacity of 40 TJ/d and a 60-km pipeline to process and transport gas from Project Atlas via the Darling Downs pipeline to the Wallumbilla hub.

Jamena will fund the A$140-million capital required to construct and commission the facility, with Senex to deliver raw gas into the downstream infrastructure and Jemena to deliver sales specification gas into the Wallumbilla gas hub, at multiple delivery points.