The oil exploration well is being drilled offshore in North West Shelf permit WA-208P.
This morning, the well was at a depth of 3206 metres in the Eliassen Formation reservoir section, where elevated mud gas readings and 80% hydrocarbon fluorescence with moderately fast streaming cut and thick residue were observed, according to Mosaic.
The company said these shows would be evaluated once drilling reached a total depth of 3280m and wireline logging was completed.
In the eastern part of WA-208P, the Hurricane prospect is a large fan play with the potential to host 40-50 million barrels of recoverable oil.
The well is a follow-up to the Hurricane-1 gas discovery, which in 2005 intersected a 76m gross gas column on rock with no gas-water or gas-oil contact identified.
Supporting pressure and gas-condensate compositional data indicate the likelihood of an underlying oil leg, Mosaic said.
The participants in the WA-208-P JV are: Apache Energy (34.03%), Santos (31.31% - operator), Eni Australia (18.66%), Beach Petroleum (10%) and Mosaic Oil (6%).
