Key highlights

  • Omega Oil & Gas Ltd (ASX:OMA) shares closed at $0.71, up 2.90%, on 19 October 2026.
  • A 12 October 2026 announcement reports Canyon-4 intersected a 589 m gross oil and gas-bearing sequence with 197 m of aggregate net pay.
  • Omega is targeting an upgraded oil and gas resource assessment by the first quarter of 2027.

Omega Oil & Gas Ltd (ASX:OMA) is an exploration company focused on the Taroom Trough in Queensland. On 19 October 2026, the shares closed at $0.71, up 2.90%. In an ASX announcement dated 12 October 2026, the company reported results from Canyon-4, the second vertical well in its fully funded 2026/27 appraisal program on the eastern flank of the trough.

Canyon-4 results

The company says Canyon-4 is its best Canyon well to date, with a 589 metre gross oil and gas-bearing sequence and 197 metres of aggregate net pay, compared with 526 metres and 170 metres at Canyon-3 and 433 metres and 132 metres at Canyon-1. Average porosity in the primary Canyon Sandstone target rose from 7.4% at Canyon-1 to 12.1% at Canyon-4.

The well was drilled about 8 km south and 100 metres structurally updip from Canyon-3 and reached total depth at 4,017 metres measured depth in basement, making it the first modern well to penetrate the full Permian sequence on the southern Taroom Trough’s eastern flank. It recovered 111.2 metres of core, a 94.6% recovery across three reservoirs. It also intersected the Lower Kianga Formation and the Tinowon Sandstone, and was deviated 28 degrees to reach the Tinowon target. Gas ratios, petrophysical analysis, odour, fluorescence and gas bubbling from core indicate oil through most reservoir intervals.

Development and resource implications

Canyon-4 is the fourth well within a focus area of about 400 km² in PCA 342 and 343, where Omega holds 100%. The company says that area could support about 160 horizontal development well locations, assuming 2,000-metre laterals at about 2.5 km² per well. SLB modelling using Canyon-1 and Canyon-1H data indicates a 10-year estimated ultimate recovery of about 0.95 MMboe for a single 2,000-metre horizontal Canyon Sandstone well, and updated modelling is under way to include Canyon-3 and Canyon-4.

Omega says Canyon Sandstone continuity is supported over more than 40 km north-south, from Canyon-2 to Tasmania-1 within ATP 2081, with regional evidence extending another 40 km north-west. It is targeting an upgraded oil and gas resource assessment by the first quarter of 2027. The next vertical wells will test the play’s extension north in ATP 2081, and the newly announced 1,138 km² ATP 2082 offers exposure to the southwest.

Funding and program

The 2026/27 appraisal program is described as fully funded and within budget, with Canyon North-1 next and horizontal flow testing planned for the first half of 2027.

The announcement says Canyon-4 drilled through the full Permian section to basement and that formation evaluation data support a multi-level, overpressured Permian oil and gas-bearing system across the eastern flank, with six reservoir intervals identified. It recovered 111.2 metres of core, which the company says gives a high-quality dataset for targeting the best reservoir in future horizontal wells.

Sector backdrop

The benchmark index finished the session higher. The S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) stood at 8,845.70 at 4:25 pm (GMT+11) on 19 October 2026, up 0.44%, or 39.00 points, for the day. On the sector map, Energy rose 2.16%, the largest gain among the labelled segments. More broadly, Energy rose 2.16%, Industrials 0.93%, Financials 0.85%, Utilities 0.38% and Consumer Staples 0.25%, while Information Technology fell 1.35%, A-REIT 0.34%, Consumer Discretionary 0.18%, Telecommunication Services 0.16% and Health Care 0.13%.

Risks shareholders should weigh

The announcement relies on petrophysical analysis, gas ratios and visual indicators, and these are not production flow rates. Flow testing of horizontal wells is not planned until the first half of 2027, so commercial productivity is not yet established. The EUR figure is a modelled estimate from earlier wells.

The count of 160 Horizontal Well locations is a theoretical calculation based on assumed lateral lengths and spacing. An upgraded resource assessment is a target for early 2027, and the appraisal program needs continued funding and approvals. Oil and gas prices and development costs would determine any later commerciality.

What’s next

Omega will drill Canyon North-1 next, run horizontal flow tests in the first half of 2027, complete updated modelling and aim to release an upgraded resource assessment by the first quarter of 2027.