It's been a lively week for investors in 3D Oil, which listed a year ago at 40¢ with a plan to develop some promising acreage in the Gippsland Basin and Bass Strait. Everything looked good on Monday, with drilling results showing the West Seahorse-3 well had confirmed oil discoveries made in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Esso and Hudbay Oil. Then came a release on Tuesday with the dreaded words "intersected deeper than predicted" about potential reservoirs deeper than the main target. Still, West Seahorse-3 is being completed as a future producer, just 10 kilometres offshore. And there's another hope for investors. Drilling is set to start by the end of the week on the neighbouring Wardie-1 well to test a prospect that is just a few hundred metres away from Seahorse.