MELBOURNE, Aug. 1 -- 3D Oil Ltd., Melbourne, is considering a possible tie-in to an existing ExxonMobil Corp.-operated development in the Bass Strait as a way of developing its small West Seahorse oil field on Bass Strait Permit Vic/P57.
3D Oil is in discussions with ExxonMobil over the tie in and will proceed to a front-end engineering and design stage if the talks are fruitful.
The company says this option is to most feasible plan, but still would present potential technical and commercial challenges. Because of this the company also is looking at stand alone options for development, but did not elaborate.
West Seahorse lies in shallow water close to the Gippsland coast of eastern Victoria. The development of a West Seahorse-Wardie oil hub took a bad turn when the Wardie-1 well, nearby West Seahorse, failed to penetrate adequate reservoir and only one of three oil reservoir targets in the West Seahorse-3 development well found commercial oil.
Both wells were drilled by SeaDrill Ltd.'s West Triton jack up rig earlier this year.
3D Oil is currently conducting detailed mapping of potential prospects in the permit and is actively looking for a partner to share the risks of further exploration in the area.
At this stage the company has 100% interest in the permit.
