Esso Gippsland Shelf No. 1: Australia's First Offshore Well Drilling Report

Esso Gippsland Shelf No. 1 was Australia's first offshore well, drilled by Esso Exploration Australia, Inc. The well was spudded on December 27, 1964, reached a total depth of 8,701 feet on May 31, 1965, and was completed as a suspended gas well on June 5, 1965. The report details the geological formations penetrated, production test results, and the well's historical significance as the first offshore discovery in Australia.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical drilling operations based on the detailed timeline and technical specifications provided.
• Study the stratigraphy of the Gippsland Basin based on the described Tertiary and Upper Cretaceous sections.
• Model early offshore gas discoveries based on the reported flow rates and test results from the Latrobe Valley Coal Measures.
• Research the technological and regulatory context of 1960s Australian exploration based on the mention of the Petroleum Search Subsidy Act.

Strengths

• Report provides precise dates and depths, including spud date (1964-12-27), total depth (8,701 feet), and completion date (1965-06-05).
• Contains specific quantitative results from three production tests, including gas flow rates up to 6.85 MMcf/D and condensate volumes.
• Documents the well's historical significance with multiple 'first occurrence' facts for the region.

Limitations

• The primary data format is PDF/HTML text; structured tabular data (e.g., columnar logs) is not confirmed.
• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Drilling and geological analysis report from a stratigraphic operation.

Time Range

1964-12-27 to 1965-06-05 (drilling and testing period)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 14:25:27.977124; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Gippsland Basin, approximately sixteen miles off Ninety Mile Beach, south-eastern Victoria, Australia.