Operator Roc Oil said the Ensco 53 jack up rig had spudded this morning after waiting for a few days for heavy weather to die down. The well is the first in a series of up to nine wells aimed at proving up the new offshore oil fairway the initial Cliff Head discovery wells are thought to have uncovered.

The prospects are located in two offshore permits, WA-286P and TP/15, and is unique in the number of smaller Australian oil companies that are involved, led by middleweights Roc Oil and AWE.

The balance is made up from a plethora of junior explorers, including ARC Energy, Voyager Energy, Norwest Energy, Hardman Resources and Bounty Oil & Gas. The Japanese Mitsui company is also involved.

ROC said the well was expected to reach its depth of 1300 metres during the week but no further reports would be issued until the well was drilled and logged, unless any problems or other significant issues develop.

The well will evaluate the reservoir potential of the upthrown fault block in the northern part of the Cliff Head Oil Field.

The partners may also drill two further wells from the Cliff Head-3 location. The first would be designed as a minimal sidetrack to twin the current well to provide an optimum opportunity to core the main zone/s of interest, run casing and test the potential reservoir.

The second potential sidetrack, dependent upon the results of the two earlier holes, would be designed to further appraise the field by drilling an additional higher-angled sidetrack hole to a bottom hole location approximately 750 metres to the south of the Cliff Head-3 surface location.