The settlement of the issue is a pre-requisite to the state offering formal grant of the permits.

Empire has 100% equity in all of the permits (12/00-1, 4/02-3, 3/02-3 and 5/98-9) and takes the company's total position in the Perth Basin to seven permit areas totalling 20,000 square kilometres.

Following the drilling of Stokes Bay-1 in Retention Lease R1 in the Canning Basin in mid 2004 Empire will drill the Mooriary prospect in 3/02-3 which has a similar structural style to the producing Mt Horner Oilfield located 30km to the west.

Moooriary-1 has potential recoverable oil reserves in the Cattamarra Coal Measures Objective J sands of five million barrels and the L sands also has potential for five million barrels.