ADX Energy has moved to significantly expand its footprint in the gas-prospective Sicily Channel, lodging a third application for exploration acreage offshore Italy as the continent grapples with a renewed energy squeeze.

The latest application covers a sizeable 517 square kilometres offshore from the western end of Sicily and follows two other permit applications in the same area, which the company submitted in mid-August.

With the addition of the third block, ADX is now chasing a total of 1303 sq km of new ground. The three application areas also lie adjacent to the company’s existing 100 per cent-owned C.R 150.AU exploration permit, which covers 346 square kilometres. If successful, the new lease would hand ADX a dominant, contiguous exploration position of roughly 1650 square kilometres in the region.

The move comes as European gas markets have tightened dramatically, with benchmark Dutch TTF gas futures recently jumping above €70 (A$113) per megawatt-hour, singling out gas-dependent nations such as Italy as one of the most exposed big economies to price shocks.

The company’s confidence in the area has been bolstered by an independent review from RISC Advisory, which recognised the Miocene-aged Terravecchia Formation as a valid biogenic gas play. This interpretation is supported by regional geology, gas shows in nearby wells and analogous discoveries at the nearby onshore Lippone-Mazara and the major offshore Argo-Cassiopea gas fields.

ADX’s already-awarded exploration permit, C.R 150.AU, currently holds a hefty unrisked mean prospective resource of 619 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas, with a best estimate of a whopping 1.265 trillion cubic feet. Historical drilling by majors ENI and Shell on the permit area had already demonstrated gas potential, with the Nilde-2 well encountering high-quality natural gas in shallower horizons. Offset wells surrounding the permit have also often recorded elevated mud gas shows in the target sandstones, providing further evidence the play is gas-bearing.

Importantly, the existing permit area is strategically located only 20km north of the Transmed gas pipeline corridor, which runs from North Africa into Sicily and could provide a clear path to market for any commercial discovery.

The application process now enters a three-month window where other operators can submit competing bids for the acreage. If no competing applications emerge, ADX will need to secure opinions from two Italian ministry bodies and submit a request for an environmental impact assessment to advance its claim.

Should a competitor emerge, the ministry will select the winning bid based on criteria including the novelty of the exploration objectives, the proposed work program and the technical and economic capacity of the applicant.

ADX’s strategic push couldn’t be better timed, with Italy’s government actively rolling out the welcome mat for gas explorers. In a bid to secure domestic supply and reduce its reliance on energy imports, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s administration has been fast-tracking gas-only exploration applications, creating a clear regulatory tailwind for companies like ADX.

However, the government has drawn a sharp line in the sand, tightening the rules around oil exploration even as it encourages the hunt for gas, a move that aligns with ADX’s gas-focused strategy in the region.

While ADX builds its Italian portfolio, the company is already firing on all cylinders in Austria, where its established onshore operations are pumping oil from the Anshof and Vienna Basin fields and delivering a steady stream of cash into the company coffers.

Late last month, ADX also reported that a commingled flow test from four zones at its HOCH-1 well in Upper Austria produced gas at an average rate of 3.15 million cubic feet per day, equivalent to 548 barrels of oil equivalent per day. That result built on an earlier test of just a single zone that flowed at a healthy 2.7 million cubic feet per day.

The HOCH-1 well is just the first of three shallow gas prospects the company has lined up, with two additional prospects, GOLD-1 and SCHOE-1, already fully permitted and set for drilling. Beyond this shallow gas chase, ADX also holds its “world-class” Welchau deep gas prospect in Austria. Better still, open-access gas pipeline infrastructure runs just two kilometres from the shallow prospects, offering a ready-made route to market.

With a huge potential resource identified in Italy and a multi-pronged, cash-generating operation in Austria, ADX appears to be executing a savvy, two-pronged strategy to become a key local energy supplier for a continent desperate to secure its future. As it systematically advances both fronts, this European energy story looks like it’s just getting started.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: [email protected]

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