Hess Corp makes its third gas discovery off WA's coast

Hess said on Thursday that the Nimblefoot-1 exploration well on WA's north west shelf had encountered 28 metres of net gas pay.

The company last year beat 10 rivals for the permit, with a commitment to drill 16 wells within the first three years at a cost of $503 million.

The 780,000-acre WA-390-P Permit is wholly owned by Hess and sits to the south west of Chevron Corp's Gorgon and Jansz gas fields, which are estimated to hold about 40 trillion cubic feet of gas.