Dune Oil Corp. & Block M47: Decoding the Onshore Pivot & Seismic Catalyst

• Dune Oil Corp. exited its offshore Black Sea gas assets, eliminated US$25 million in debt, and is focusing capital on Block M47, where it has a 2C contingent light oil resource of 27.6 million barrels net to its 29% working interest.
• The company has completed the tender for a 90-kilometre two-dimensional (2D) seismic survey, scheduled for late summer 2026, to improve subsurface imaging and define drilling targets across the South Lead, Mid-Lead, and North Field.
• Under its farm-in agreement, Dune Oil Corp. is earning a 29% working interest by funding a US$15 million work program over 18 months, with US$1.5 million spent and US$13.5 million remaining.
• The immediate development priority is a sidetrack of the Çetinkaya-1 well using managed-pressure drilling after the original 2025 well encountered severe mud losses and stopped 100 metres above the target reservoir.
• Additional exploration upside includes the Central Prospect and Findik, supported by a planned September 2026 seismic survey over the adjacent Yatağankaya trend.

What Has Happened

Effective August 4, 2026, Dune Oil Corp. exited offshore Black Sea gas to clear US$25 million in debt and focus capital on onshore oil in Turkey. The company has finalised the contract tender for a 90-kilometre two-dimensional (2D) seismic survey on Block M47. Targeted for late summer 2026, the 6-week survey is designed to resolve structural traps and lock in vertical drilling coordinates for its 27.6-million-barrel contingent light oil discovery net to its 29% working interest.

Technical Strategy & Subsurface Imaging

The 90-kilometre 2D seismic survey covers 3 targets on Block M47: the South Lead, the Mid-Lead, and the North Field, which surrounds the Çetinkaya wells. Designed using a gravity study and scouting program completed on June 30, 2026, the survey integrates existing grids to resolve poor subsurface resolution. This modern structural imaging is the primary means of bypassing historical lost-circulation hazards and locking in vertical drilling coordinates.

The Gabar Onshore Light Oil Fairway

The M47 Block is situated in the Cudi-Gabar province, where regional production has grown from zero to over 81,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day over the past 5 years. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2024 country report, Turkey imports over 85% of its crude oil, spending US$35 billion annually on imports, despite a domestic production base of 127,000 barrels of oil per day. The initial production will be trucked 130 kilometres to the Tüpraş refinery in Batman, yielding a US$ 50.00-per-barrel operating netback at US$72.00 Brent. This netback supports a 2-month well payback under the block's 12.5% royalty & 25% corporate tax rate, with pipeline capacity of 150,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to the Esma Çevik system, which is completed in 2026.

President of Dune Oil Corp., Scott Lower, discussed the development:

"Is my belief that the only reason we're not producing, you know, 10,000 barrels a day on the block is that it's just been a lack of capitalisation and a lack of drilling over on the block to the east. They've probably drilled up to 500 wells on those other seven fields. We've drilled two wells. We made a discovery last year. So that gives you some idea of the undrilled potential of the block."

Strategic Reorientation & Project Economics

Following the second quarter of 2026 restructuring, Dune Oil Corp. sold its 49% interest in the Black Sea SASB gas field to eliminate US$25 million of debt, executed a 5:1 share consolidation, and listed under the symbol 'DUNE' on the CSE. The company has raised US$2.5 million through recent equity placements to support ongoing campaigns. Under the farm-in agreement, the company is earning a 29% working interest on Block M47 by deploying US$15 million in work-program funding over an 18-month period, with US$1.5 million expended to date. This interest is supported by a 2C contingent resource of 27.6 million barrels with an unrisked net present value discounted (NPV10) of US$733.5 million based on a Brent price of US$72 per barrel, under the independent Chapman Petroleum Engineering Ltd. evaluation effective December 31, 2025.

Development Concept & Field Optimisation

The Chapman report, effective December 31, 2025, outlines an 82-well vertical drilling campaign for the North Field, targeting a peak rate of 8,816 barrels of oil per day net to the company by 2030, with a net capital expenditure (CAPEX) of US$90 million. The immediate priority to generate cash flow is to sidetrack the Çetinkaya-1 well, which encountered a total mud loss of 2,452 metres in 2025 and stopped 100 metres short of the reservoir. Dune Oil Corp. plans to drill the Mardin Group limestone using managed-pressure drilling (MPD), completing the well with open-hole packers and a rented Early Production Facility (EPF) to allow immediate trucked sales during flow testing.

Exploration Upside & Block-Line Offsets

Beyond the appraised North Field, the Chapman report assigned P50 prospective resource estimates of 13.1 million barrels for the Central Prospect and 7.9 million barrels of oil for Findik net to Dune Oil Corp. After the Findik-1 well hit lost circulation in 2025, the company is targeting drilling Findik-2 as a 500 to 1,000-metre offset to test the Mardin and Palaeozoic formations. This exploration potential was de-risked by the TPAO-owned Yatağankaya-1 discovery on the adjacent M48 block in May 2026, drilled 500 metres from the boundary. Gravity data indicate that this productive anticline extends onto Block M47, where a high-resolution seismic study is targeted for September 2026.

Operational Challenges & Concession Risks

Technical delivery on Block M47 is subject to distinct subsurface and capital constraints. Lost-circulation events represent a persistent operational hazard, as evidenced by total mud losses in the fractured Germav shale interval, which halted the 2025 campaign above the primary carbonate pay zones. Mitigating these hazards requires managed-pressure drilling systems, adding to the per-well capital requirements.

Financially, Dune Oil Corp. must deploy US$13.5 million of the remaining US$15 million farm-in commitment over the next 18 months to secure its 29% working interest. Given the company's recent CAD$2.5 million in cash inflows, executing the forward work program depends on securing additional dilutive or non-dilutive capital. Furthermore, the 27.6-million-barrel resource remains classified as a contingent resource rather than proved reserves, meaning commerciality remains unestablished.

What to Watch Next

Over the next 12 months, several operational and corporate milestones are expected to shape Dune Oil Corp.'s progress. The six-week field phase of the 90-kilometre two-dimensional seismic program is scheduled for late summer 2026 and is expected to define new drill targets. This will be followed by a high-resolution seismic survey over the adjacent Yatağankaya trend in September 2026 to evaluate potential reservoir extensions. Horizontal sidetrack drilling at the Çetinkaya-1 well remains the company's primary operational catalyst as it seeks to establish initial production. Progress on securing the remaining US$13.5 million required to complete the farm-in work program, together with the selection of drilling locations for the planned C-3 and C-4 vertical wells, will also be important milestones as the company advances development of the North Field.

Lower outlined the immediate focus:

"They should be looking for the results of the seismic program. It's ongoing at this time. They should be looking as well at the capitalisation, and they should be looking at an opportunity to get in before the drilling occurs."

FAQs (AI-Generated)