Red Sky Energy Hits Gas Pay in Both Zones at Yarrow 5 Ahead of Schedule
Key Takeaways
- Yarrow 5 reached total depth of 2,802 metres on 13 September 2026 ahead of schedule, intersecting gas pay in both target formations: 6.4 metres LDG pay in the Patchawarra Formation and 2.0 metres in the Tirrawarra Sandstone.
- Santos, as operator, has recommended Yarrow 5 be cased and suspended as a future gas producer, matching the outcome of Yarrow 4 — giving Red Sky two future producers drilled from a single dual-well pad.
- Red Sky Energy holds a 20% working interest in the Santos-operated Innamincka Dome Joint Venture, with Yarrow 1 and Yarrow 3 already producing gas into the Santos gas-gathering network.
- The third well in the program, Willowie 2, is scheduled to be drilled in late October 2026, with stimulation and completion timing for Yarrow 4 and Yarrow 5 subject to workover rig availability.
- No production rates can be confirmed until the wells are hydraulically fracture-stimulated, completed, and tested — LDG results confirm gas presence but not commercial deliverability.
Yarrow 5 delivers gas pay in both target formations ahead of schedule
Red Sky Energy (ASX: ROG) has confirmed that the Yarrow 5 development well reached a total depth of 2,802 metres measured depth (mMD) on 13 September 2026, ahead of schedule, intersecting gas pay in both primary targets: the Patchawarra Formation and the Tirrawarra Sandstone. Santos (ASX: STO), as operator, has recommended the well be cased and suspended as a future gas producer, with fracture stimulation and gas completion the nominated next steps.
Red Sky holds a 20% working interest in the Santos-operated well, which was drilled from the same dual-well pad as Yarrow 4. Yarrow 5 is the second well of the three-well Yarrow development program, following Red Sky’s execution of a binding Authority for Expenditure (AFE) with Santos in April 2026.
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What the downhole data shows
Preliminary petrophysical results
Logging while drilling data points to gas pay across both target formations. The key results, before the table below, are:
- Patchawarra Formation: 6.4 metres of low deliverability gas (LDG) pay, including 3.7 metres within the higher-quality VC90 sand
- Tirrawarra Sandstone: 2.0 metres of LDG pay
This contrasts with Yarrow 4, where the Tirrawarra Sandstone delivered 5.2 metres of LDG pay and the Patchawarra Formation just 0.2 metres — the two wells are delivering gas across the same formations but in different proportions, which is a useful indicator of reservoir variability across the pad.
Downhole pressure measurements indicate reservoir pressures of approximately 3,849 psi in the Patchawarra Formation and 3,618 psi in the Tirrawarra Sandstone.
It is important to note that these results are preliminary, derived from logging while drilling data, and remain subject to revision. No production testing has been carried out at Yarrow 5, and flow rates and commercial deliverability cannot be determined until the well is stimulated, completed, and tested.
| Formation | LDG Pay (m) | Gross Sand (m) | Avg Porosity | Avg Water Saturation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patchawarra Formation | 6.4 | 7.9 | 7.2% | 26.0% |
| of which VC90 sand | 3.7 | 4.9 | 8.4% | 18.5% |
| Tirrawarra Sandstone | 2.0 | 13.9 | 5.7% | 47.5% |
| Total | 8.4 | – | – | – |
Source: Red Sky Energy ASX Announcement, 15 September 2026. Results are preliminary and subject to revision.
Understanding low deliverability gas in the Cooper Basin
Low deliverability gas, or LDG, refers to gas that is present in the reservoir rock but cannot flow at commercial rates without additional intervention. In the Cooper Basin, this intervention is hydraulic fracture stimulation, commonly called fracking.
Fracking involves pumping fluid into the well at high pressure to crack open tight, low-permeability rock. Once the rock is fractured, gas that was previously trapped can flow through to the wellbore at meaningful rates. The number of stages and the nature of the treatment for Yarrow 5 have not yet been finalised.
For investors, an LDG result does not mean commercial production is confirmed. What it does mean is that gas is present in the reservoir, pressure readings support its presence, and the operator has assessed the well as worth casing, suspending, and returning to for stimulation. That is a materially better outcome than a dry hole.
The Cooper Basin context also matters here. Santos operates established gas-gathering, pipeline, and processing infrastructure that connects directly to the Moomba facility. That existing infrastructure is expected to reduce well development costs and time to first production compared with a greenfield setting where that infrastructure does not yet exist.
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What comes next for Red Sky’s Innamincka Dome program
Three-well program tracking to plan
Both Yarrow 4 and Yarrow 5 were drilled from the same dual-well pad and are now both to be cased and suspended as future producers. The rig is scheduled to drill Willowie 2 in late October 2026.
Santos will advise the timing of stimulation and completion of Yarrow 4 and Yarrow 5, subject to workover rig availability and scheduling. That timing remains dependent on weather, access windows, and operational scheduling. No production rates can be confirmed until the wells are stimulated, completed, and tested.
Andrew Knox, Managing Director, Red Sky Energy
“Yarrow 5 has intersected gas pay in both the Patchawarra Formation and the Tirrawarra Sandstone and will be cased and suspended as a future producer, the same outcome as Yarrow 4. The team drilled two wells from one pad, and two future producers will be stimulated and completed. The rig is scheduled to drill Willowie 2 in late October 2026.”
Red Sky’s position in the joint venture
Red Sky holds a 20% working interest across six petroleum retention licences (PRLs 14, 17, 18, 180, 181, and 182) within the Santos-operated Innamincka Dome Joint Venture. This is not a greenfield project. Yarrow 1 and Yarrow 3 are currently producing gas into the Santos gas-gathering network, giving the company an established production base from which the development program is being built.
Red Sky’s activity is not limited to the Innamincka Dome joint venture; the company’s Killanoola drilling programme represents a separate operational front that has also been advancing through 2026, adding further optionality to the company’s broader gas development portfolio.
Each well that confirms gas pay and is cased as a future producer adds to the potential production pipeline. For a small-cap company with producing assets already producing gas, two additional wells progressing toward stimulation and completion represents a meaningful step in growing that base — provided the wells perform as expected once tested.
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