Australian operator Santos is seeking approval for a new offshore drilling programme in the Bedout Basin, located in Commonwealth waters off Australia. The plan allows for as many as seven wells, either exploration or appraisal, as the company targets additional oil and gas resources.
Australia’s offshore safety and environmental regulator NOPSEMA has opened public consultation on an environmental plan (EP) covering this multi-well exploration and appraisal activity. Santos submitted the EP in December 2025. The document sets out the proposed work scope for drilling, evaluation, well testing, and well abandonment.
In addition to drilling operations, the programme also covers a suite of site surveys at each proposed well location. These will include geotechnical, hydrographic, and geophysical work, typically lasting about one to two weeks per well site, to collect information on the seabed and underlying geology. The data will be used to position a mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) safely and accurately before operations begin.
The EP is intended to remain in force for five years, during which Santos may carry out up to seven exploration or appraisal wells distributed across four operational areas. Current planning envisages drilling taking place between the third quarter of 2026 and the third quarter of 2031, using a moored semi-submersible MODU, a jack-up MODU, or a combination of both.
Each well is expected to require roughly 40 to 110 days for drilling, including contingency time. Wells may be drilled individually or as part of multi-well campaigns across the Bedout Basin areas named Curie, Ara, Wallace, and Mestrel/Bancroft, which are located in exploration permits WA-541-P, WA-435-P, and WA-436-P.
Among these, the Mestrel/Bancroft area is closest to mainland Western Australia, lying about 123 kilometres north of Port Hedland. Exact well coordinates within each area have not been fixed. Until further geological interpretation and engineering work is completed, wells may be located anywhere within the boundaries of the defined operational areas.
Subject to securing all necessary regulatory and commercial approvals, activities are scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2026. Operations covered by the EP may be carried out at any time of year over its five-year term.
According to the EP, each drilling campaign is expected to comprise around two to four wells. Two campaigns are currently envisaged, and a third could be needed if a jack-up rig is used at the Mestrel/Bancroft prospect. Campaigns are generally spaced at least 12 months apart to allow time to review and interpret the well data acquired.
Results from the initial exploration wells will influence the number, location, and objectives of later wells in the programme. Santos indicates that more than one exploration well may be drilled within a single operational area. Where an exploration well proves successful, an appraisal well on the same prospect is expected to follow within roughly six to eighteen months. In total, up to four appraisal wells may be drilled after the exploration phase.
The Bedout EP submission follows Santos bringing an FPSO (floating production, storage and offloading) unit on stream at a separate project off the coast of Australia’s Northern Territory.
