Delhi-Santos Gidgealpa No. 1 Well: Geological and Drilling Data from South Australia

Gidgealpa No. 1 was drilled to a total depth of 13,114 feet between August and December 1963 in the Great Artesian Basin. The well, subsidized under the Petroleum Search Subsidy Act, provided the first subsurface encounter of Cambrian rocks in the basin and recorded more hydrocarbon shows in the Permian sequence than any other regional well at the time. Data from this off-structure well is provided by the Australian Ocean Data Network via data.gov.au.

Use Cases

• Analyze drilling parameters and lithology based on the detailed spudding, depth, and completion dates provided in the description.
• Study hydrocarbon show distribution based on the mention of abundant shows in the Permian sequence.
• Correlate geological formations based on comparisons to the Innamincka No. 1 and Dullingari No. 1 wells mentioned.
• Investigate the impact of exploration subsidies based on the reference to the Petroleum Search Subsidy Act 1959-1961.
• Evaluate reservoir characteristics based on described features like low porosity sandstones and a 400-foot thick porous dolomite zone.

Strengths

• Provides precise drilling dates (spudded 28th August 1963) and depths (total depth 13,114 feet).
• Contains a distinctive geological finding as the first subsurface encounter of Cambrian rocks in the Great Artesian Basin.
• Documents specific operational details, including the rig used (National 80-B) and the drilling contractor.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic/temporal bias inherent to data_gov_au as a single historical well record.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data.gov.au

Collection Method

Drilling and geological reporting by Delhi Australian Petroleum Ltd and Santos Limited.

Time Range

1963 (drilling and completion activities)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 20:42:04.447344; freshness should be verified.

Geography

North-eastern corner of South Australia, Great Artesian Basin