The Brisbane-based company said it has completed the purchase of Oilex’s Queensland assets, which include stakes in two oil fields and a portfolio of exploration tenements in the Surat-Bowen and Cooper-Eromanga basins.

In return, Oilex was given 15 million fully paid ordinary shares and 15 million five-year options at 50c each to become Bow’s largest shareholder.

Now the transaction has gone through, Bow said it plans to drill up to two appraisal wells later this month on the Donga Oil Field in ATP 805P, where its interest has increased from 42.5% to 85%.

The two wells will be drilled using the Australian Drilling Services rig, which is currently drilling the second of three wells for Queensland Gas Company. Assuming no down-time, the rig is expected to be released to Bow in the last week of November.

Bow has assessed the Donga Oil Field to contain 2.2-5 million barrels of oil, with recovery dependant on adequate water drive.

Also in ATP 805P, Bow says it has mapped several new oil leads and prospects through integrating the geological data from the new assets. These leads are being high-graded for inclusion in the Surat farm-out projects and as potential drilling targets from next year onwards, it said.

Meanwhile, Bow has also been marketing its Surat farm-out project at the AAPG International Petroleum Conference in Perth this week, where it plans to divest most of the exploration risk. The project comprises multi-well farm-out programs, where 70 oil leads and prospects have been identified.

In ATP 752P, the company says it has booked a rig to drill three back-to-back exploration wells in the Wompi Block.

Bow, to act as operator with a 25% working interest, says the first well, Marracooda-2, would twin a well with an interpreted oil column in a zone that produced at high flow rates from wells in neighbouring tenements.

The second well, Gamma-1, will target a potential 6.11 million barrels of recoverable oil, while the last well, Nora-1, has the potential to tap into 6.5 Mmbo. Site preparation and the construction of access roads has started.

More than 20 additional leads and prospects have been identified in the Wompi Block, which offer substantial upside potential following any successful discovery.

Also in the permit, Bow says the joint venture has completed a 3D seismic survey and 100km 2D infill program over the Barta Block.

The 2D infill seismic data was designed to detail oil prospects in the middle of the block, while the 3D acquisition detailed prospects near the Cook Oil Field, where the exploration well flowed 879 barrels of oil per day.

Two of the best oil prospects detailed by the data will be selected as part of the Avery farm-in, with drilling planned for the second quarter of next year.

One of the prospects has the potential to contain up to 52 million barrels of recoverable oil in one zone, Bow said.