Santos Finds Gas at Varanus South-1 Well in PEL 513 in Cooper Basin

Drillsearch Energy Ltd. announced Thursday a new wet gas discovery on the Western Cooper Wet Gas Fairway of the Cooper Basin in South Australia.

The Varanus South-1 well in PEL 513 (Drillsearch 40 percent and Santos 60 percent and Operator) is the first well to be drilled by Santos and Drillsearch under the joint venture between the companies announced in July 2013.

Varanus South-1 was drilled to a total depth of 10,347 feet (3,154 meters) as a near-field exploration well. Drillsearch’s preliminary interpretation of wireline logs has confirmed an aggregate best estimate of 59 feet (18 meters) of net gas pay over a gross interval of 1,197 feet (365 meters) in the Patchawarra Formation and an additional 29 feet (9 meters) of net hydrocarbon pay over a gross interval of 121 feet (37 meters) in the Tirrawarra Formation, which was considered a secondary target. As a result, the well has been cased and suspended as a future wet gas producer. Interpretation of the well results is continuing.

Varanus South-1 is located 1.3 miles (2.1 kilometers) southeast of the Varanus field, which produces wet gas from the Patchawarra Formation, and 1.1 miles (1.8 kilometers) north of the Cooba field and 6 miles (9.8 kilometers) southwest of the Tirrawarra field, which both produce wet gas from the Patchawarra Formation and oil from the Tirrawarra Formation. The Varanus, Cooba and Tirrawarra fields are owned by the South Australian Cooper Basin Joint Venture (SACBJV).

Drillsearch Managing Director Brad Lingo said:

“This discovery represents an excellent start to our drilling campaign with Santos and highlights once again the prospectivity of this area for wet gas. We have an active program underway to commercialize the various wet gas discoveries in our portfolio and we look forward to working with Santos to bring Varanus South-1 into production.”

Following casing and suspension of Varanus South-1, the rig will move to drill the Yarowinnie South-1 well, which is located 4.3 miles (7 kilometers) southwest of Varanus South-1 and 3.3 miles (5.4 kilometers) south of the SACBJV’s Andree-Leleptian gas field.