Last Monday, the company announced the Harpoono-2 well had made a new pool oil discovery in the McKinlay Member, after the well flowed 1080 barrels of oil per day on test.

A second drill stem test flowed 240 bbls of oil to surface from the Murta formation, Stuart said. The well was then completed as a Mckinlay and Murta dual zone oil well and tied into the existing Harpoono facilities.

With a planned depth of 1480m, Harpoono-3 is also targeting the McKinlay Member and the Murta Formation. The Birkhead and Hutton formations are considered secondary oil targets.

Yesterday morning, Harpoono was drilling ahead at a depth of 81m in a 12¼ inch surface hole.

If Harpoono-3 joins its predecessor as a commercial discovery well, the drilling program is likely to expand to include the drilling of two adjacent exploration prospects, Rimfire and Revenue, according to Stuart.

Following acquisition and mapping of the Harpoono 3D seismic survey last year, Stuart learned that Harpoono-1 was located on the north-west flank of a flat-topped ridge with poorly defined closure to the south. The Harpoono-2 and Harpoono-3 wells are up-dip of the discovery well at both the Murta and Namur formation tops.

The Harpoono-1 well originally flowed 175 bopd on test from the Murta and is now flowing 60-70 bopd. Total production to date is approaching 37,000 bbls.

Stuart Petroleum holds a 66.67% stake in PEL 113, while Beach Petroleum owns the remainder.