Co-venturer Moby Oil & Gas told the market yesterday afternoon that the well in Vic/P45 reached a total depth of 3074m without encountering any material hydrocarbons.

"Wireline logging operations have been completed and steps are now being undertaken to plug and abandon the well," the junior said.

Coelacanth-1 was targeting the Top Latrobe horizons in Vic/P45, where Apache is earning a 66.7% stake in the permit from Moby Oil (16.66%) and Exoil (16.67%) by funding two wells.

Vic/P45's northern edge is only 2km east of Australia's largest oil field, Kingfish, and is close to several other Esso-BHP producing oil and gas fields.