The program will target eight prospects and is expected to be the largest to be undertaken by a non-Santos independent in the South Australian section of the province. Beach established a record of seven wells last year in its initial foray into this part of the Basin.

The first of the new wells, the Christies-1 oil prospect, 80 kilometres west of Moomba, spudded today in a program that will also include Beach's most northerly well to be drilled in the South Australian sector of the Basin, Semaphore-1.

"Together with the Basin's extension in southwest Queensland, the South Australian section of the Cooper Basin is emerging as our home patch and the core of our future oil production and exploration business, " Beach Petroleum's managing director, said Reg Nelson.

"The Cooper Basin is popularly thought to be well explored, but it's not well understood that there are large tracts of territory that are untested.

"Beach will spend $5 million in 2003 to further prove up this perimeter potential, bringing our participation rate in new drilling in this part of the Cooper Basin to 15 wells in under two years."

Nelson said Beach's current oil production from the Cooper Basin was selling for between A$45-50 per barrel, delivering an estimated net present value of $A15-20 per barrel on current Australian oil prices.

The partners in Christies-1 are Beach 75% and Cooper Energy 25%.