Although non-commercial in Eucalyptus-1, the companies said the oil shows in the Westbourne and Tinchoo Sands provide evidence of the movement of oil through the Eucalyptus prospect.

Additional encouragement for the oil bearing potential of the follow up prospects in the permit is provided by the combined oil flow rates of 3,210 barrels of oil per day reported from the Triassic sandstones of the Santos James Oil Field discovery well, James-1, 14km to the west of the Eucalyptus-1 well location.

Follow up prospects to the north of the James Oil Field and the Eucalyptus-1 well are the Acacia prospect with the potential to contain recoverable oil reserves of up to 15 million barrels, if oil is present and the Casuarina Prospect with the potential to contain recoverable oil reserves of up to 18 million barrels, if oil is present.

Victoria Petroleum managing director John Kopcheff said the current exploration success rate of 42% in the South Australian Cooper/Eromanga Basin for the ex-Santos acreage, highlighted by the most recent Cooper Energy 4,200bopd Worrior-1 oil discovery, also highlights the Basin's prospectivity for oil and gas exploration.