The low case came from DeGolyer and MacNaughton while the 233Bboe estimate came from Gustavson Associates, with consensus in both reports that the Stuart Range formation and the underlying Boorthanna and pre-Permian formations were rich in oil and gas-prone kerogen.
The hope is this will form the basis of a new liquids-rich shale play.
Linc said the reports backed up its view that the Arckaringa could be an analogue to the Eagle Ford or Bakken basins in the US.
Gustavson prepared its numbers by considering the data gathered to date and assigning prospective resources to all three formations of the “oil generation window”, but also considered the potential for gas in deeper parts of the basin.
Meanwhile, D&M assigned gas-liquids ratios to the various depth intervals in each formation, resulting in estimation of prospective resources of oil in the shallower depths and gas in the greater depths.
Aside from the unconventional, Gustavson also compiled a report on the conventional potential of the basin, saying that an unrisked prospective resource of up to 125Bboe could be present.
The new information will be of great interest to those toying with the idea of partnering up with Linc in its quest to tap the basin.
Late last year, Barclays was appointed by Linc as its strategic advisor on the Arckaringa shale assets in the Cooper Basin, as Linc tried to figure out what to do with them
Linc holds over 65,000sq.km of the basin across seven exploration licenses, with the shale thought to be an oil shale hotspot.
Linc generated exploration headlines last year when it struck oil shale while drilling the Arck-1 stratigraphic well in PEL 122, saying the discovery could lead to a 200 billion tonne oil resource.
Meanwhile, stratigraphic wells drilled by Linc over the past 12 months (Arck-1 and Wirrangulla Hill-1) found total organic content of more than 10%, better than many of the prolific oil shales of North America.
The oil shale deposit occurs at about 854m and covers roughly 1150sq.km in the Stuart Range formation, part of the Arckaringa Basin.
