Empyrean Energy announced that it has been informed by Sacgasco Limited (Sacgasco), the operator of the Dempsey 1-15 well in the Sacramento Basin, onshore California, that a drilling permit for the well has been granted.

Sacgasco is now preparing to drill the targeted 1Tcf prospect to a depth of 10,500ft and updates will be made with regards to the commencement of operations in the coming weeks.

– Tom Kelly, Empyrean CEO, commented:

"Having recently increased our interest in the 1Tcf+ natural gas Dempsey prospect to 30% we are eager for Sacgasco to commence drilling.  The well, which will drill through seven stacked conventional reservoir targets, is now being prepared for drilling and we look forward to providing updates on progress made in the coming weeks.  This is a very exciting time for Empyrean, having just announced a gas discovery offshore Indonesia with a stabilised flow rate of 10.9 million cubic feet of gas per day, we are looking to build on the momentum behind the Company and in the process realise the full potential of our portfolio of high quality assets."

– Dempsey Prospect

Dempsey is a large structure mapped with 3D seismic and interpreted by Sacgasco to have the potential to hold a prospective resource of over 1 Tcf of gas in up to seven stacked target reservoirs.  Aside from compelling technical merit, the Dempsey 1-15 well location sits next to existing gas metering and surface infrastructure that is owned by the joint venture. This will allow for any gas discovery to be tested and connected into the local pipeline at relatively low cost and in an accelerated timeframe.