Mount Salt No. 1 Well: Drilling and Geological Data from the Otway Basin, 1962

Mount Salt No. 1 Well was drilled in the Otway Basin, South Australia, to a depth of 10,044 feet between May and September 1962. The well targeted Cretaceous sediments for petroleum potential, recording traces of crude oil and a gas show. Drilling was subsidized under the Petroleum Search Subsidy Act 1959-1961 and included a full program of logging, testing, and coring.

Use Cases

• Analyze stratigraphic sequences based on described Oligocene, Eocene-Palaeocene, and Cretaceous sediment layers.
• Evaluate petroleum potential based on recorded traces of crude oil and a gas show from 9830 to 9848 feet.
• Study drilling and testing outcomes based on the results of five attempted drillstem tests.
• Correlate geological formations based on mentions of the Paaratte, Waarre, and Flaxmans Beds formations.

Strengths

• Specific drilling dates (9th May to 21st September 1962) and total depth (10,044 feet) are documented.
• Detailed geological context is provided, including sediment thickness (3260 feet of Oligocene/Eocene-Palaeocene) and formation correlations.
• Operational details are recorded, such as the subsidized depth range (from 980 feet) and the contractor (Reading and Bates).

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 and temporal bias inherent to a single historical well report.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data_gov_au

Collection Method

Drilling, logging, testing, and coring operations conducted at the well site.

Time Range

1962 (drilling period: May to September)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-16 23:45:36.762603; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Otway Basin, approximately twelve miles south-west of Mount Gambier, South Australia