Beach Energy and Cooper Energy start drilling at Sensation-1 oil well in South Australia

Australian oil and gas exploration firms Beach Energy and Cooper Energy have initiated spudding at the oil exploration well Sensation-1, which is located in PRL 98 on the western side of the Cooper Basin in South Australia.

Beach Energy is the majority owner for PRL 98 with 75% stake, while the remaining 25% stake is being held by Cooper Energy, which is also the operator for the project.

Sensation-1 well is situated around 1.8miles (2.9km) to the north of the Callawonga oil field, and will be drilled to a total depth of 6,309ft (1,923m) in the Merrimelia Formation.

Drilling at the site is expected to be completed within eight days.

Namur Sandstone, the primary target for the Sensation-1 well, is the oil-bearing reservoir spread across several fields in PEL 92 (Callawonga, Parsons, Windmill).

Secondary targets for the oil well comprise of the McKinlay Member, Birkhead Formation and Poolowanna Formation, which are the oil-bearing regions in several PEL 92 fields including Callawonga, Christies and Sellicks.

Operations at Sensation-1 will be the last in the ongoing three well drilling campaign. The other two wells, Callawonga-10 and Callawonga-11 had met with appraisal successes previously.