ConocoPhillips Australia is exploring for natural gas in the Otway Basin (offshore Victoria) near existing natural gas wells. The drilling program aims to identify viable natural gas reserves to supply the East Coast market and support Australia’s current and future energy needs, ensuring reliable power generation, industrial processes, and residential heating.

ConocoPhillips Australia’s Environment Plan for the Otway Exploration Drilling Program was accepted by Australia’s independent regulator — National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) in February 2025.

The activities described in the Environment Plan will be completed no later than 31 December 2028.

A maximum of six exploration wells will be drilled in Commonwealth waters within two offshore petroleum title permit areas, VIC/P79 and T/49P, which are adjacent to existing natural gas developments in the Otway Basin.

Drilling will take typically 30-40 days, but no more than 90 days at each location. The drilling rig will be supported by up to three vessels that will travel between the rig and the Port as required. Helicopters will support crew changes several times per week.

ConocoPhillips Australia is part of an industry consortium that has contracted the Transocean Equinox rig (a Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit). ConocoPhillips Australia will use the rig to undertake exploratory drilling as part of our approved Otway Exploration Drilling Program.

Other companies in the consortium are using the rig for their own activities that are unrelated to our Program.

ConocoPhillips Australia will notify relevant persons before commencement and at the conclusion of its activities.

About the permit areas

• Exploration Permit VIC/P79—Granted in 2022 by the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA), on behalf of the Commonwealth-Victoria Offshore Petroleum Joint Authority. ConocoPhillips Australia SH2 Pty Ltd became joint Titleholder and Title Operator later that year.
• Exploration Permit T/49P—Granted in 2013 by NOPTA, on behalf of the Commonwealth-Tasmania Offshore Petroleum Joint Authority. ConocoPhillips Australia SH1 Pty Ltd became joint Titleholder and Title Operator in 2020.

Seabed surveys are an important safety and environmental measure undertaken ahead of exploratory drilling. The survey will help us to understand the existing seabed environment and determine drilling locations. The survey will be undertaken by a boat and will involve mapping of the seafloor and collecting seabed samples. Our Environment Plan outlines the control measures that will be in place to ensure that impacts are mitigated to acceptable levels that are as low as reasonably practicable.

We will use the following geophysical and geotechnical survey techniques to gather information about the seabed:

• Multibeam echosounder to map the seafloor's shape and depth.
• Side-scan sonar to identify seafloor objects or features.
• Sub-bottom profiling to understand the layers of sediment and rock just below the seabed.
• Magnetometry to detect metal objects (for example, shipwrecks).
• Cameras or other imaging tools capture visual information about the seabed.
• Geotechnical testing to assess soil properties and sediment sampling.

Two exploration wells are scheduled to be drilled by the end of 2025. Three possible locations* for the two exploration wells have been identified in VIC/P79 – please see the map below.