2P reserves fall to 12.4 PJe as 60.3 PJe moves to resources

Odin and Vali reserves reclassified

Vintage Energy Ltd (ASX:VEN) has reported a sharp reduction in booked reserves at its Cooper Basin gas fields, with net 2P reserves falling to 12.4 petajoule equivalent (PJe) at 30 June 2026 from 72.9 PJe a year earlier. Net 1P reserves declined to 1.4 PJe from 36.3 PJe.

The headline deterioration is primarily a classification change rather than a reported loss of gas in place. An independent assessment by Chris Dykes Reserves International moved 60.3 PJe from reserves into contingent resources, reflecting Vintage’s current capital expenditure plans and the absence of a firm commitment to proceed with a larger-scale development at Odin and Vali.

Cooper Basin contingent resources rise to 62.9 PJe

Vintage’s net 2C contingent resources increased to 110.0 PJe from 47.0 PJe. The Cooper Basin accounted for 62.9 PJe, comprising the 60.3 PJe reclassified from reserves and a further 2.6 PJe recorded as a revision for technically recoverable gas not previously included in reported reserves.

The company’s broader resource inventory also includes 46 PJe in the Galilee Basin and 0.8 PJe in the Otway Basin. Those figures largely carry forward previously published assessments, while the Cooper Basin change is the substantive feature of the FY26 statement.

Odin-3 and Vali-4 sit at the centre of development plans

Managing Director Neil Gibbins said the assessment confirmed “negligible change” to estimated gas in place at Odin and Vali, describing the fields as a significant gas resource for south-eastern Australia. He also pointed to the company’s planned capital expenditure and the South Australian government grant supporting the next drilling program.

That program involves Odin-3 and Vali-4, wells that were part-funded by the previously announced $5 million drilling grants. Vintage said completing the prerequisites to commit to the program and bring additional gas to market is among its foremost priorities, but the announcement does not provide a definitive drilling date, production forecast or development budget.

Only 2.6 PJe of 2P reserves is developed

Of the 12.4 PJe of net 2P reserves remaining, 2.6 PJe is classified as developed and 9.8 PJe as undeveloped. Sales gas represents 12.1 PJe, with the balance comprising 2.2 kilotonnes of LPG and 0.05 million barrels of condensate.

The reserve figures are net to Vintage’s 50% interest in the Cooper Basin fields and were prepared under the 2018 Petroleum Resources Management System. The assessment states that CDRI was not aware of new information materially affecting the estimates or the underlying technical assumptions.

Development commitment is the unresolved variable

For shareholders, the important distinction is between gas identified in the ground and gas currently classified as reserves. The 62.9 PJe of Cooper Basin contingent resources is not booked as reserves today; its eventual conversion will depend on development decisions and the results of near-term activities, including the proposed wells.

That leaves Vintage with a larger reported resource base but a much smaller reserve base against which near-term development can be measured. The next material evidence will be whether Odin-3 and Vali-4 progress from a grant-supported plan to committed drilling, and whether their results justify moving some of the contingent volumes back into reserves.