Transocean rig heads to Essington drill site offshore Australia
The Transocean Equinox semisubmersible rig is heading toward the Essington exploration well location, 55 km offshore Port Campbell, Victoria.
A consortium led by ConocoPhillips has hired the rig to drill the well in 100 m water depth, with the aim of proving a new source of gas for Australia’s east coast market.
Partner 3D Energi expects drilling to start around Nov. 1, with the well designed to test stacked reservoir targets with direct hydrocarbon indicators and potential combined resources of 262 Bcf.
The two main targets are the Waarre A reservoir and the overlying Waarre C reservoir.
The well is expected to take about 32 days to drill to planned total depth, subject to operational conditions.
Although the partners view Essington as a relatively low-risk prospect, the anticipated technical risks include potential fault seal leakage that may reduce gas saturation, and elevated CO2 concentrations linked to deep-seated fault systems.
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