Origin makes Otway gas discovery

Origin Energy Ltd., Sydney, has made a gas discovery in the offshore Otway basin of western Victoria.

Origin reported that pressure data taken in its Speculant-1 wildcat indicated a 145-m thick gas column in the Waare C formation. Further evaluation is under way.

The discovery lies 3 km off the coast southeast of Warrnambool and is immediately north of the company’s existing Halladale and Black Watch fields discovered in 2006.

The well was spudded more than two months ago on Sept. 23, targeting a tilted fault block structure over an area of about 7 sq km. The company used extended reach technology and the Ensign 931 rig for the drilling program.