Comet Ridge to drill appraisal well in Australia’s Galilee Basin

Comet Ridge is set to drill the Albany 1 deep sandstone appraisal well next month in the Galilee Basin in Australia.

As part of preparatory procedures, the company has secured all major service contracts, which include a drilling rig contract with Easternwell for Rig 101.

Comet Ridge managing director Tor McCaul said: “Drilling of the Albany 1 well will commence as soon as possible after this rig has been released from current drilling operations for another operator and we expect it to arrive on site around the middle of May.”

The Albany 1 follows the completion of the Carmichael 1 well, which was first drilled in 1995.

The Carmichael 1 drilling campaign flowed gas at low rates from three intervals in the thick Galilee Sandstone sequence.

As tests carried out in 1995 previously produced gas from Albany 1, the company intends to spud the well as an appraisal well, rather than an exploration well.

Based on an independent resource certification, the Albany structure is estimated to have 417PJ of recoverable gas at the 3C contingent resource level, 153 PJ at the 2C level, and 56 PJ at the 1C level.