Origin gears up drillbit for hunt near Thylacine

By RUSSELL SEARANCKE Wellington

 07 October 2011 01:15 GMT

AUSTRLIAN independent Origin Energy is preparing for a major offshore exploration drilling campaign off south-east Australia in a bid to find more gas reserves within proximity of its Thylacine platform.

Origin plans to drill up to six wells in the Otway basin, an area that has seen very little exploration success in recent years.

The drilling is planned to start next March and run intermittently for two years, the company said, and will be carried out using a semi-submersible rig in water depths between 70 and 200 metres.

Origin said the drilling will take place in three areas that it has pinpointed — Murchison, Thistle and Astrolabe.

This trio of areas is within Origin-operated exploration blocks Vic/P43 and T/30P and production licences Vic/L23, T/L2…

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