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ConocoPhillips Australia (COPA), a subsidiary of the U.S.-headquartered energy giant ConocoPhillips, is only days away from hydrocarbon exploration activities in the Otway Basin off the coast of Australia, which will be undertaken by a semi-submersible rig owned by Transocean, an offshore drilling player.
After securing all required regulatory approvals for the Otway exploration drilling program, the operator booked AHTS vessels from Sea1 Offshore, formerly Siem Offshore, and Transocean’s Transocean Equinox semi-submersible drilling rig to help it find more gas with the Otway project.
Following a weather-related delay, the semi-submersible began activities for Australia’s Beach Energy offshore Victoria during the quarter, with the plug and abandonment of the Geographe 1 and Thylacine 1 wells already completed. The rig will now work for ConocoPhillips before returning for the second phase of the Australian operator’s activity, scheduled for H2 FY26.
The mobilization of the rig to the Essington-1 gas exploration well in the Commonwealth waters of VIC/P79 is underway, according to ConocoPhillips’ partner, 3D Energi, a Melbourne-based oil and gas exploration player whose subsidiary, TDO, has a 20% interest in both permits.
These drilling operations, scheduled to start on or around Saturday, November 1, 2025, target a combined 262 billion cubic feet (bcf), mean prospective resource in the Waarre C and Waarre A reservoirs, both supported by direct hydrocarbon indicators (DHIs).
This well is expected to take approximately 32 days to drill to a planned total depth (TD) of 2,650 meters true vertical depth sub sea (TVDSS), subject to operational conditions, representing an important step in 3D Energi’s strategy to deliver a new gas supply for Australia’s East Coast market.
While COPA currently holds the remaining 80% stake, the firm recently inked a deal to lower its stake to 51%, with Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) assuming a 29% interest.
The rig was previously expected to spud the Essington-1 well in mid-October 2025, followed by Charlemont-1 between November and December 2025.
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