Santos Deploys Fourth Rig in Oz Cooper Basin

Australia’s Santos August 13 said it has deployed a fourth rig, the Ensign 965, in the Cooper Basin, South Australia, which should help in increasing gas supplies to country’s east coast.

The rig will drill eight wells by the end of this year, starting in the Big Lake field with four deviated wells from a multi-well pad. It will then move to Moomba South, drilling four appraisal wells there, Santos said. With the fourth rig in operation, Santos said it will now be able to drill almost 90 wells in the Cooper Basin this year.

"As Santos has become Australia's lowest cost onshore natural gas developer, reducing development well costs by more than 40% in the Cooper since 2015, we now have the right cost base to invest in making the most of the vast discovered resource base of Cooper Basin natural gas," Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher said.

"Santos is breathing new life into the Cooper Basin which has been producing for more than 50 years and could still have its best years in front of it as we learn more about new geological plays and as drilling and production technology advances," Gallagher added.

Santos said it is on track to supply about 70 PJ of gas into the east coast domestic market in 2018, which is almost 13% of expected demand.