IPB focuses on oil and gas assets, rather than Buffett connection
The company is IPB Petroleum, a new oil and gas play, which began its initial public offering period on Tuesday. The Buffett connection is distant but comes from IPB's farm-in partner, CalEnergy Resources, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, which is 89 per cent owned by Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway holding company.
IPB managing director Brendan Brown politely grimaces when the Buffett question is raised and seeks to return the conversation to the assets: two offshore oil and gas permits about 80 kilometres off Western Australia's Kimberley coast.
"We have a discovery and that's what we are charged with delivering," he said.
The assets have links to big names and not just because they neighbour Shell's Prelude field and the Woodside-operated Browse project.
One of the offshore permit areas was explored by BHP a couple of decades back and while oil was found, it did not appear to be in sufficient quantities for the multinational.
IPB has revisited the area and applied newer technologies, including a 3D seismic survey, and is confident further drilling will find more oil than BHP thought.
"We have an existing oil discovery in our permit, which gives us a certain amount of confidence because where you have discovered some oil there should be some more," Mr Brown said.
"We have an independent experts report that puts IPB's share of prospective resources at over 500 million barrels of oil at the mean prospective resource level ... that's just in the one permit."
IPB is offering shares at 50¢ and the offer will remain open until April 5.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
IPB Petroleum is a new oil and gas play launching an initial public offering on the ASX. The company is offering shares at 50¢ (50 cents) each, with the offer remaining open until April 5.
No — the Buffett link is distant. IPB’s farm‑in partner is CalEnergy Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, which is about 89% owned by Berkshire Hathaway. IPB’s management stresses the connection is indirect and prefers to focus on the company’s assets.
IPB holds two offshore oil and gas permits located roughly 80 kilometres off Western Australia’s Kimberley coast. These permits neighbour major projects including Shell’s Prelude field and the Woodside‑operated Browse project.
Yes — one permit area was explored by BHP a couple of decades ago. BHP found oil but judged it to be not in sufficient quantities at that time. IPB has since revisited the area using newer technologies.
IPB has applied newer exploration technologies including a 3D seismic survey to re‑evaluate the permits. Management says this work, combined with the existing discovery, gives the company confidence that further drilling could find more oil.
An independent experts’ report cited by IPB puts the company’s share of prospective resources at over 500 million barrels of oil at the mean prospective resource level — and that figure relates to just one of its permits.
IPB’s farm‑in partner is CalEnergy Resources, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company. That company, in turn, is about 89% owned by Berkshire Hathaway. The farm‑in arrangement links IPB to a partner with broader industry connections, but it does not mean direct ownership or control by Berkshire Hathaway.
IPB managing director Brendan Brown emphasizes the company’s focus on delivering a commercial discovery. Management points to an existing oil discovery in the permit, the independent resource assessment, and modern seismic work as reasons for confidence in further exploration success.
Call 1300 880 160
Start a chat
Schedule a call
