However, Westech is unlikely to immediately release any well information, including flow rates, concerning Surrey-2 which the OD & E Rig 19 is presently drilling from the Surrey-1 discovery wellsite in licence PEP 38734.

Westech president Ed Davies confirmed to EnergyReview.Net from Denver today that Surrey-2 spudded last Sunday and was due to reach the targeted Miocene-aged Mount Messenger sands before the end of the week.

Although Davies declined to comment further, it is known Westech will be hoping Surrey-2 flows at least as well as Surrey-1, but from a different part of the same reservoir, so it too can be linked into to NGC's nearby pipeline system.

Last December Surrey-1 flowed 116 barrels of oil and 1.26 million cubic feet of gas per day from a 25m-thick reservoir and is now linked into the NGC pipeline and flowing about one Petajoule of gas a year.