Petsec is putting up cash but was coy regarding the identity of the operator or the location, as it is trying to lock up more land.

“It will be revealed when we make a discovery,” said Petsec chairman, managing director and CEO Terrance Fern.

“We don’t want to give away too much at this stage as we only have 1000 acres and are negotiating to acquire more.”

The first well in the three-well program has already spudded. It is a sidetrack of a previously productive well and will target gas sands in an adjacent block.

The three wells will target three separate fault blocks in a 1000-acre tract south of Lafayette, Louisiana.

“It’s an opportunity that was presented to us by people that we know well who are competent operators,” said Petsec chairman, managing director and CEO Terrance Fern.

“The hard part about onshore operations is acquiring the acreage but they had already gone through the heartache and done the hard work, so we were happy to buy in. Each well is targeting several zones and once you have the land the costs are cheaper onshore.”

Target sizes are 5 to 10 bcf and each well will probably cost between $1.5 and $3 million to drill and develop, Fern said.