3D Energi Limited (ASX:TDO), an oil and gas exploration company based in Melbourne with projects offshore Victoria and Western Australia, has announced a gas discovery at the Charlemont-1 exploration well. The well is located within the VIC/P79 exploration permit in the offshore Otway Basin, Victoria, where 3D Energi holds a 20% participating interest. The announcement highlights a previously unanticipated gas discovery within thin Waarre C sandstones, following the successful recovery of a gas sample.
Wireline logging has been completed across the Waarre C, B, and A sandstones. MDT operations successfully recovered a gas sample from a Waarre C sandstone, confirming the presence of hydrocarbons. Preliminary rig-based compositional analysis of the sample reveals a CO2 concentration of 16 Mol%, similar to the La Bella gas field. Elevated gas readings in the Waarre A sandstone coincide with elevated resistivity, suggesting a probable hydrocarbon presence, though further petrophysical analysis is ongoing.
Charlemont-1 confirms gas charge at both ends of the Charlemont Trend, potentially de-risking intervening prospects. The company believes the Charlemont Trend is showing consistent seismic amplitude anomalies. Charlemont-1 is the second gas discovery of the Otway Exploration Drilling Program (OEDP), highlighting the prospectivity of the Charlemont prospect cluster.
Following the completion of wireline logging, Charlemont-1 will be plugged and abandoned, concluding a successful Phase 1 of the OEDP. Further analysis will be required to determine the commercial viability of the Phase 1 gas discoveries, and no decisions have been made regarding progression to development.
