The Galloway-1 exploration well is being drilled from an onshore location by deviating the well into the offshore exploration block Vic/P39(V) near Seaspray in southeast Victoria.

At 6am today, the well was drilling ahead at a depth of 320m. The well is expected to take 18-20 days to reach the objective.

Tap said Galloway-1 was designed to test an anticlinal structure identified on recently acquired 2D seismic data at both the Top Latrobe and Intra Latrobe levels.

The company says the seismic data indicates that Galloway-1 is more likely to contain oil than gas.

“An oil discovery at Galloway-1 has the potential for excellent economic returns as it could be rapidly brought onto production due to its onshore drilling location,” Tap said.

Interests in Vic/P39(V) are operator Santos (37.5%), Nexus Energy (37.5%) and Tap Oil (25%).