Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) shares are trading flat on Monday morning.
At the time of writing, the mining and mining services company's shares are changing hands for $38.22.
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Why are Mineral Resources shares flat?
The company's shares are unmoved today despite some big news relating to its energy operations.
According to the release, Mineral Resources has announced the maiden resources for the Lockyer Gas Project and the Erregulla Oil Project. These are both located on exploration permits (EP) 368 and 426, approximately 300 kilometres north of Perth.
They are part of Mineral Resources' 100%-owned onshore Perth Basin oil and gas acreage, which has been the subject of extensive exploration investment since the Lockyer Deep-1 (LD-1) discovery in 2021.
Lockyer Gas Project
Mineral Resources revealed that the Lockyer Gas Project has a maiden 2C contingent gas resource of 435 petajoule (PJ) sales gas, with 3.3 million barrels (MMbbl) associated condensate.
Total current 2C contingent gas resource is 76 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe), whereas its current total 2U prospective gas resource is 1,420 billion cubic feet (Bcf) and a risked 2U of 487 Bcf across 14 Kingia Sandstone prospects and leads.
Management notes that planning for the development of the Lockyer Gas Project is well progressed and approvals have been submitted for a Central Processing Facility with a production capacity of up to 250 terajoules per day (TJ/d). In response to inbound queries from a number of domestic and global parties, Mineral Resources is reviewing development and partnering opportunities.
Erregulla Oil Project
The Erregulla Oil Project has a maiden total 2C contingent oil resource of 31.6 MMboe.
This confirms it to be one of the largest onshore oil discoveries in Western Australia since the discovery of oil on Barrow Island in 1964. Importantly, management notes that there is potential for further exploration upside.
It also notes that opportunities to commercialise the Erregulla Oil Project will be considered alongside the review of options for the Lockyer Gas Project. Options for consideration include separate ownership and development plans for the two assets.
Commenting on the maiden resources, Mineral Resources's managing director, Chris Ellison, said:
Our Perth Basin conventional oil and gas discoveries are among the largest onshore finds in Western Australia, with significant upside on these two exploration permits alone. Developing these resources provides MinRes with yet another option to grow shareholder value through our portfolio of commodities located in the world's best resources jurisdiction.
With the commissioning of our new exploration rig, we are just getting started and the Energy division is firming up targets on the largest acreage holding in the highly prospective Perth and Carnarvon basins. Developing the Perth Basin remains subject to sensible WA Government domestic gas policy, and MinRes will consider all development and partnership options to maximise value from our exploration success.
