PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The federal government on Monday unveiled a new stratigraphic well in Western Australia's Canning basin to assist in scoping out new resources in the region, paving the way for new investment and jobs, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan said.

The federal government's Exploring for the Future Programme has provided A$5-million in funding for this drilling project, with the Geological Survey of Western Australia managing the operations.

The Waukarlycarly drill site in the South West Canning basin was identified off the back of data from Australia's largest onshore seismic line which highlighted two areas of the basin - the Waukarlycarly Embayment and the Kidson sub-basin - which showed new mineral, energy and groundwater potential.

"This well will provide the resources industry with greater certainty to explore in the region and create more jobs. The Waukarlycarly project is frontier science because the drill hole is well outside of areas previously explored in the region and will provide a much better understanding of the sub-surface geology of the area," Canavan said.

It is estimated the basement will be reached at about 2 200 m once drilling is completed in late 2019, with results to be made publicly available in mid-2020.

The Canning basin has great potential for both unconventional oil and gas, Canavan said on Monday, pointing to research by Geoscience Australia, which estimated there are potentially 43-billion barrels of recoverable shale oil in the Canning basin.

Annual global production is currently 29-billion barrels, and there are recoverable shale gas resources of 390-trillion cubic feet with additional potential for tight gas resources of 48.5-trillion cubic feet.

"The Canning basin in Western Australia, the Beetaloo sub-basin in the Northern Territory and the Isa basin in Queensland along with a number of other areas, all have great potential to contribute to the development of Northern Australia and Australia's future energy security," Canavan said.  

Western Australian Minister for Mines and Petroleum Bill Johnston said geoscientists from the Geological Survey of Western Australia at the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety are working with Geoscience Australia to conduct the drilling.

"We are pleased to be working with the federal government to better understand these regions and provide tangible evidence that will help boost investment in Western Australia," Johnston said.

"This drilling operation illustrates the benefits and importance of state-Commonwealth collaborations to fund exploration and provide valuable scientific data.

"Access to data from this drill site, and the preceding seismic survey, improves exploration efficiency over a much broader area and can result in new projects that will create jobs for Western Australians."