Perth-based Tap said the wildcats will target prospects east of Barrow Island including Cyrano, Crackling South and Banjo.

Drilling of the Cyrano Prospect, said to hold 6 million barrels (mmbbls) of recoverable oil, is scheduled to begin tomorrow with the arrival of the ENSCO-53 jackup drilling rig.

Tap has a 100% stake and is sole risking the drilling of Cyrano-1 while Tap's share of Crackling South-1 and Banjo-1 is 50% and 33.33% respectively.

Crackling South is said to contain a mean volume of 30 mmbbls of recoverable oil while Banjo is said to hold 50 mmbbls of recoverable oil.