Shares in BPH Energy Ltd (ASX: BPH) are soaring with news of its subsidiary's Offshore Sydney Basin gas prospect. At the time of writing, the BPH share price has gained 21.9% as shares in the company trade for 8.9 cents.
BPH's investee company, Advent Energy Ltd, has reviewed a Geoscience Australia research report that uncovered geophysical gas indications in the basin.
The company, which has several interests including gas and oil exploration, said the basin was the closest potential new gas source to the New South Wales gas market.
BPH also advised on the potential for Advent's Baleen Well to be used for carbon capture and storage (CCS). Let's take a closer look at the news announced by BPH today.
Offshore Sydney Basin's potential
According to BPH, the Australian government agency Geoscience Australia has found a high likelihood of striking gas in Advent Energy's Offshore Sydney Basin.
Geoscience claimed the likely presence of gas was evident from a series of pockmarks.
Advent is part of a joint venture in the promising part of the Offshore Sydney Basin, offshore license PEP-11, located off the coast of Newcastle.
The PEP-11 joint venture is between Advent and Bounty Oil & Gas NL (ASX: BUY), with 85% of the license held by Advent and 15% is held by Bounty.
According to BPH's release, the development of Australia's energy resources is critical for Newcastle's industries, job creation, and power generation.
Further, Advent and Bounty believe a gas discovery in PEP-11 would be in line with the Federal Government's ambition to find gas supplies to help the region transition to electric power.
Carbon capture and storage
BPH also updated the market on an additional objective of Advent and Bounty's drilling in the Baleen Well, an area in the PEP-11 licence.
According to the company, the Federal Budget includes incentives for CCS technology.
BPH has previously announced the Baleen Well program could offer CCS for the greater Sydney and Newcastle area.
If successfully implemented, the Baleen Well would be the closest point of CCS to the area, producing approximately one-third of Australia's carbon emissions.
BPH Energy share price snapshot
The BPH Energy share price is having a ripper year on the ASX so far, with today's news bringing its latest boost.
Currently, BPH shares have gained 120% since the start of 2021. They've also gained 790% over the last 12 months.
The company has a market capitalisation of around $49.5 million, with approximately 664 million shares outstanding.