The joint venture partners are operator Beach (30%), Origin Energy 50% and Otway-focused junior, Essnetial Petroleum, 20%.

Cowrie-1 will be drilled to a depth of 1,400 metres in pastoral country 25 kilometres southwest of Naracoorte and within PEL 27 in the Otway Basin.

PIRSA records show that there has been no drilling onshore for oil in that part of the State since the Jacaranda Ridge-1 well in 1999 discovered a waxy crude oil play in the Sawpit Sandstones formation – although the discovery was not commercialised.

“Our objective is the Sawpit Sandstones and we will be drilling about 17 kilometres from the Jacaranda Ridge site,” Beach managing director Reg Nelson said.

“The province already hosts a number of nearby gas production wells and the area’s stratigraphic structure is favourable for oil.”

Cowrie-1 is expected to take about 12 days to drill to its total depth of 1,408 metres.

Beach has contracted the Century 7 rig, currently drilling near Port Campbell in western Victoria, to drill Cowrie-1.

Nelson said site preparations had already been completed and the rig was expected to be mobilised and assembled on site three or four days ahead of the drill start.

The rig structure will be fully washed down prior to its departure from Port Campbell and entry in the Coonawarra area with about 50 trailer loads of equipment and materials required to be transported to the site near the Killanoola Tank.