ODNL Penola No 1 Well: Geological Log from 1961 South Australia Drilling

Geoscience Australia Data provides the drilling log for the O.D.N.L. Penola No. 1 Well, a petroleum exploration borehole drilled to 4,985 feet in South Australia between February and May 1961. The operation included electric and mud logging, testing, and coring to test the Coonawarra subsurface structure. The log details a geological sequence from Oligocene to probable Upper Jurassic, noting minor non-commercial gas showings and no live oil.

Use Cases

• Modeling subsurface stratigraphy based on the detailed geological sequence from Oligocene to Upper Jurassic.
• Analyzing petroleum exploration outcomes based on the documented gas showings and dry hole conclusion.
• Studying historical drilling techniques and logging programs based on the contractor, rig type, and methods described.
• Correlating seismic data with borehole geology based on the structure first detected by a reconnaissance seismic traverse.

Strengths

• Provides a detailed geological log with specific depth measurements for formations, such as 215 feet of Gambier Limestone.
• Includes precise operational metadata: drilling dates (7 Feb - 5 May 1961), total depth (4985 feet), and contractor details.
• Documents the specific objective of testing the Coonawarra structure detected by seismic survey.

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 temporal bias inherent to a single well drilled in 1961.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Drilling and logging operations by Oil Development N.L. under a farm-out agreement.

Time Range

Drilling operations from 7 February 1961 to 5 May 1961.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-25 17:41:54.725736; freshness should be verified.

Geography

North-east corner of Section 500, Hundred of Penola, South Australia.