Utopia-5 had been a disappointment, turning up 18 barrels of water and no oil. But the joint venture had been expecting to find oil at Utopia-6, Bounty said.

The extent of the Murta oil column and its potential flow rates will be determined once drillstem test data and wireline logs had been evaluated, the company said.

Conditioning of the well was now complete and the drill stem test tools are being rigged up.

Utopia-6 primarily targeted the early Cretaceous Murta formation, but will also test a secondary target in the Jurassic Hutton sandstone.

The Utopia joint venture is Oil Wells Inc of Kentucky (operator and 60%) and Bounty Oil & Gas (40%)