The well flowed at a stabilised rate of 18 to 19 million standard cubic feet per day and the flowing well head pressure at the end of the test was about 965psi.

“We’re very pleased with these results,” Nexus exploration manager Philip Smith told EnergyReview.Net.

“They confirm the flow potential of the reservoir section in the Longtom field, which had been a major concern leading up to the drilling of the well.”

The well was tested over the interval 2184-2192.5m and 2212.5-2243.5m below the rotary table. It flowed gas with a condensate-to-gas ratio of about 3 barrels per million scf. CO2 was measured at 1%. Longtom-2 is now being prepared for a second test.

“Longtom-2 is very important for Nexus,” Smith said.

“It’s the first real exploration well we have drilled under the current management team and the current strategy.”

Nexus has a strategy of taking 100% interest in permits then seeking farmin partners.

It has kept a 37.5% stake in VIC/P54 with the remainder being held by Apache, which is also the operator. But it intends to retain 50% in upcoming projects at its three other Bass Strait permits, Smith said.

Nexus had the capacity to operate projects and was not particularly concerned who acted as operator, Smith said.

Its next well would be Grayling-1, an oil and gas prospect in VIC/P54, he said.

“It’s in the same fairway as the Turrum field owned by BHP and Esso,” Smith said.

Nexus also has another 100% stake in NT/P66 the offshore Bonaparte Basin south-west of Darwin.

“It’s adjacent to the Blacktip gas field and we’ve done 3300km of 2D seismic over the permit,” Smith said.