Key Highlights

• Juliet-1 intersected at least 60 metres of gross gas-bearing Waarre C sandstone.

• Wireline interpretation identified about 49 metres of high-quality net gas pay.

• Logging, pressure data and gas sampling must still establish composition and deliverability.

• The well supports evaluation of the East Coast Supply Project targeting first gas from 2028.

Amplitude Energy (ASX:AEL) has spent 2026 drilling the same offshore permit with little to show for it. Elanora-1 came back water-bearing in February. The Isabella sidetrack found gas in March, was flow tested, and was written off as non-commercial within weeks. The third attempt has gone differently.

In an announcement lodged with the ASX on 8 September 2026, titled "Juliet-1 well intersects high-quality gas-bearing reservoir", the company said the Waarre C sandstone at Juliet-1 held a gross gas-bearing interval of at least 60 metres, including about 49 metres of interpreted high-quality net pay. Reservoir quality and thickness were in line with pre-drill expectations.

The well sits in permit VIC/L24 offshore Victoria, near the Casino, Henry and Netherby pipeline, and was drilled by the Transocean Equinox. Amplitude operates with 50 per cent and O.G. Energy holds the balance. Shares changed hands at $1.87 on 8 September 2026, up 12.3 per cent, according to Market Index's evening wrap.

Logs are not a flow rate

The distinction matters. Interpreted net pay is a petrophysical reading taken from wireline logs, describing rock that the tools suggest holds moveable gas. It is neither production nor a booked reserve.

Amplitude said wireline logging would continue to gather pressure and sample data, after which the joint venture will decide whether to complete the well. A clean-up before suspension is expected to give the first read on reservoir deliverability, with laboratory analysis to confirm gas composition. The pre-drill programme contemplated casing the well, fitting a subsea tree and flow testing.

Isabella is the cautionary case. It flowed at a peak surface-constrained rate of 60 million standard cubic feet a day in March, yet pressure depletion during testing ruled out economic development.

A renamed producer with a rebuilt balance sheet

Amplitude is the former Cooper Energy, renamed after shareholders approved a special resolution at the November 2024 annual meeting, with the ticker moving from COE to AEL. An 11-for-1 share consolidation took effect in November 2025, so comparisons with older prices need adjusting.

The FY26 accounts, lodged on 18 August, showed records: sales Revenue of $285.8 million, underlying EBITDAX of $191.8 million and production of 27.6 petajoules equivalent. Net Debt fell 85 per cent to $37.6 million and cash stood at $137.5 million.

Why the east coast is watching

Juliet feeds the East Coast Supply Project, which aims to move up to 90 terajoules a day through the existing Athena gas plant from 2028. Chief executive Jane Norman has pointed to Australian Energy Market Operator warnings of peak-day shortfall risk in the southern states from 2028, with annual supply gaps from 2029.

Foundation gas sales agreements with AGL Energy and EnergyAustralia are already signed. The company has said they are conditional on minimum reserves bookings and field deliverability, precisely what Juliet-1 has yet to demonstrate.

Development is costed in two phases, about $240 million to $270 million for wells and completions, then $140 million to $185 million for subsea work and plant modifications, shared evenly.

What comes next

The immediate milestones are the completion decision, the clean-up and the laboratory work on gas composition. The Annie-2 development well is scheduled to follow in the same campaign, with an option on the Nestor prospect subject to joint venture and board approval.

A final Investment decision on ECSP development is targeted for the first quarter of FY27, with Capital Expenditure guided at $250 million to $310 million.

The risks are plain enough. An 84 per cent pre-drill probability of geological success did not save Isabella, gas composition at Juliet-1 is unconfirmed pending laboratory results, and no flow rate has been published. Until reserves are booked and deliverability is proven, 49 metres of interpreted pay remains an encouraging log reading rather than a producing gas field.