“We’ve achieved what we wanted to this financial year,” Streitberg said. “Now, we’re renewing our focus on exploration. We’ve got two drilling rigs running, concentrating on revitalisation of the gas exploration program, first with the Xyris well, and with another four or five to go on that program. The gas exploration will, hopefully, re-establish us as a force in the Perth gas market.

“The next leg is to get the oil exploration program going. We’re very focused on the onshore search. We have only got an interest left in one offshore block, TP/15, which can be explored from the shore.”

Streitberg said the high capital cost and long lead times for offshore projects were responsible for his preference for onshore developments.

“It was the main reason we sold our interest in Cliff Head. It’s going to be five years from discovery to first production for that field, versus five weeks for an onshore discovery” he said. “Payouts (cash back) of some years for the offshore versus some months for the onshore.”

He said that while the Cliff Head offshore oilfield was bigger, ARC’s net interest in the onshore fields was “probably not a lot different” because of its higher percentage interests in the onshore blocks.

“We think we can drive a lot more value into the company in the short term by exploring in the onshore.”

Cash from its onshore projects in both gas and oil may provide the lever for ARC to step outside the North Perth Basin, but probably not for a while. “I’d say we’re looking at a three-year horizon for that,” Streitberg said.

“We’ve taken a very deliberate decision to build up our operating capacity, which is unusual for a company our size. Usually you’re just a passenger with a bigger partner. There are costs involved with that decision but it does allow us to control our agenda, and to control the scope, and the shape, and the timing of our projects.”

Streitberg said there was no shortage of gas drilling targets with more oil targets likely to follow a major three-dimensional seismic program scheduled to be acquired later this year.

Brokers who follow ARC love the outlook. Euroz Equities describes ARC as “incredibly leveraged to oil exploration”. It is also described as a company with “zero debt” that gives it significant “balance sheet flexibility to fund potential future growth.”