Santos Begins New Oil Appraisal Drilling - 1 October, 2002

The exploration drilling program includes Bligh 1, which spudded Sep 29 2002, and Immortelle 1 plus the two appraisal oil wells. The Bligh 1 exploration well is in Santos' WA-191-P permit, which also holds two other oil fields discovered earlier this year. Immortelle 1 will be drilled in the TP/7(1) permit south of Barrow Island. Two other appraisal wells will be drilled back-to-back mid-October to optimize a development plan.

Bligh 1, 10 km east of the Mutineer discovery, is targeting an upside oil resource potential of 50-mil bbl. It will be drilled in waters 156 meters deep and is expected to take 19 days.

The second confirmed oil exploration well, Immortelle 1, is scheduled to spud in mid-October within the Carnarvon Basin, but south of Barrow Island in the TP/7(1) permit. Immortelle 1 is regarded as a moderate risk oil target with gross upside potential of 30-mil bbl of oil.

Interest holders in WA-191-P are: Operator Santos (33.4%), Kuwait's KUFPEC (33.4%), Nippon (25%), Woodside (8.2%). Interest holders in TP/7(1) are: Operator Santos (43.71%), Apache (39.66%), Mobil (12.47%), Pan Pacific Petroleum (4.16%)