Beach Energy Ltd., Adelaide, found gas in its Artisan-1 wildcat in permit Vic/P43 in the offshore Otway basin of western Victoria. The discovery is at the lower end of pre-drill expectations, but it is being cased and suspended as a future producer with potential tie-in to the offshore pipeline currently delivering gas from Thylacine and Geographe fields to the onshore Otway gas plant, said Matt Kay, Beach managing director.
Drilled by semi-submersible rig Ocean Onyx 30 km off the coast, the well reached a total depth of 2,205 m and encountered a gross gas column of 69.5 m in the primary upper Waarre formation target. This included 62.9 m of net pay. The gas-water contact was intersected at a well depth of 1,990 m.
A gross gas column of 20.9 m (net pay 4.6 m) was intersected in the underlying secondary target of the Flaxman formation.
The rig will now move to Geographe field to begin the first of two in-field development wells followed by an additional four in-field wells in Thylacine field.
Beach has a 60% interest and operatorship of Vic/P43. O.G. Energy has 40%.