This article is 17 years old. Images might not display.
An Eagle Bay-led joint venture started drilling its second exploration well, Vanessa-1, in Cooper Basin permit PEL 182 on the weekend.
But heavy rain on Monday night and Tuesday morning has forced the closure of local roads and could delay the running of surface casing.
In a statement this morning, Eagle Bay said the roads were expected to be closed for at least one more day depending on further rain.
Vanessa-1 has a target depth of 3250m and had been drilled to a depth of 1098m in a 12¼-inch hole.
Vanessa-1 is the next well in the PEL 182 drilling campaign after Sarahlyn-1, where oil shows were last week found to be sub-commercial.
The PEL 182 JV comprises Audax Resources with a 49.9% stake, Eagle Bay (operator with a 37.6% stake), Dome Resources (7.5%) and Australian Oil (5%).
Elsewhere in the basin, the heavy rain forced Victoria Petroleum to suspend drilling at Growler-2 in PEL 104.
Drilling is expected to restart at the well, which is currently at a depth of 108m, in the next three to four days providing there is no further rainfall in the area.
Growler-2 is being drilled to test the 16m oil column discovered last September in the Jurassic Birkhead Formation in Growler-1. Secondary targets are the Namur and Hutton sandstones.
The PEL 104 participants are operator Victoria Petroleum with a 40% stake, Impress Energy (40%) and Roma Petroleum (20%).
The Santos-operated Moomba-31ST1 gas development well was also shut down due to weather. This is part of the South Australian Cooper Basin Producers joint venture (Santos 66.6%, Beach Petroleum 20.21% and Origin Energy 13.19%).
Thunderstorms caused widespread blackouts across South Australia on Monday night and Tuesday morning, leaving up to 10,000 people without power at one stage.
ETSA Utilities said blackouts hit the Eyre Peninsula, mid and lower north and Yorke Peninsula areas and also affected parts of suburban Adelaide.
The storms brought heavy rains and strong winds, as well as an estimated 43,000 lightning strikes across the state in the 12 hours to 9am (Adelaide time) Tuesday morning, ETSA said.
