ConocoPhillips ticks seabed surveys off its list ahead of Australian drilling ops

ConocoPhillips Australia (COPA), a subsidiary of the U.S.-headquartered energy giant ConocoPhillips, has wrapped up seabed surveys over potential drilling locations to support its gas exploration activities in the Otway Basin off the coast of Australia.

The completion of seabed surveys comes shortly after Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) was revealed as the latest partner to join the Otway gas hunt in two permits, VIC/P79 and T/49P, within Commonwealth waters, adjacent to existing natural gas developments in the Otway Basin.

ConocoPhillips’ current partner is 3D Energi, a Melbourne-based firm whose subsidiary, TDO, holds a 20% interest in both permits, while COPA has the remaining 80% stake. Once regulatory approvals are in place, 3D Energi will retain a 20% participating interest in both permits after COPA, which will continue as the operator, farms down its stake to 51%, with KNOC assuming a 29% interest. 

With exploration drilling scheduled to start later this year, the information collected during the seabed surveys is now being assessed, while the exclusion zones and requested clearances around vessels that were in place have been removed. Transocean’s Transocean Equinox semi-submersible drilling rig is slated to kick off the drilling part of the work in Q3 2025.

ConocoPhillips Australia, which is part of an industry consortium that contracted the rig, will use the mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) to undertake exploratory drilling as part of its approved Otway Exploration Drilling Program (OEDP) off the coast of Victoria and Tasmania.

The company claims that its drilling campaign aims to identify viable natural gas reserves to supply the domestic market and support Australia’s current and future energy needs, ensuring reliable power generation, industrial processes, and residential heating.

“Natural gas has been safely developed in the region for many decades and is a vital part of Australia’s energy future. The environment plan includes a range of environmental control measures to mitigate impacts to the marine environment to levels that are as low as reasonably practicable and acceptable,” highlighted ConocoPhillips.

Aside from searching for more oil and gas, the U.S.-headquartered giant is also optimizing its global portfolio, as illustrated by the recent sale of its interests in Shell’s assets in the Gulf of America (GoA), formerly the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM).