Searcher, a leading service provider of global geoscience products for exploration & production companies, today announced the acquisition of two proprietary airborne exploration surveys over the onshore Perth Basin, to be acquired on behalf of Mitsui E&P Australia (MEPAU).

The new airborne geophysical data includes two surveys over three of MEPAU’s onshore Perth Basin permits (EP455, L4 and L5) located in the Shire of Coorow and Shire of Carnamah.

Searcher have assisted MEPAU with the project planning and regulatory approvals, including obtaining feedback from local stakeholders and land managers, and operational management. All activity is regulated by the Department of Mines, Industry, Resources and Safety (DMIRS) and an Environmental plan has been lodged and approved.

The airborne data acquisition is now underway with a small aircraft being used to conduct each of the surveys during daylight hours. Each survey will take approximately a week to complete.

The aircraft will fly over a mix of private agricultural land and some conservation estate, however given the activity is entirely airborne, there will not be any significant impacts. There is no requirement for any person associated with the survey to have ground access in the permit areas before or during the airborne survey.

Survey Details

The Warradarge Airborne Gravity Gradiometry (AGG) survey will be acquired first using a Cessna C208 operated by CGG Aviation Pty Ltd. The measurement of small local changes in the earth’s gravity field will provide information on the subsurface geological units and structures.

The aircraft undertaking this survey will fly 150 m above ground level at a speed of 120 knots (220 km/hour), with survey lines spaced approximately 500 m apart.

The Woolmulla Aeromagnetic/Radiometric survey will then be acquired by MAGSPEC Airborne Surveys Pty Ltd. A magnetometer mounted in a tail stinger of a Cessna C210 will measure the intensity of the magnetic field across the survey area.

The aircraft undertaking this survey will fly 60 metres (m) above ground level at a speed of 120 knots (220 km/hour), with survey lines spaced in a grid 200 m x 2km apart.

Both Searcher and MEPAU have previous experience conducting successful surveys in the area.

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