“Planned activities range from the testing of the Walloon Coal Seam Gas play at Lacerta, near Roma, to a potentially company-making offshore UK oil test at Wellington,” managing director Tony Gilby said.

“This diverse program addressed both consolidation in base business activities here in Queensland, as well as the high-growth potential offered by our international acreage.”

Early next month, the Brisbane-based company plans to start a two-well coring program at its 100% held North Roma ATP 795P permit in Queensland, targeting the Juandah and Taroom CSG play – proven to exist in neighbouring ATP 336P.

Mitchell Drilling’s Rig 120 has been contracted to drill the Lacerta-1 and Lacerta-2 wells in immediate succession. The coring program is designed to obtain technical data over the coal seams, including a full hole core, which will deliver gas content data and coal quality information.

If good permeability, thickness and gas content are recorded, Sunshine predicts the resource could contain about 230 billion cubic feet of recoverable gas. A multi-well pilot program, comprising up to five wells, would then be planned to confirm the productive capacity of the area.

The company will then focus its efforts on the high-risk, high-reward Wellington oil prospect in the West of Shetlands area, offshore UK, which it holds in a 50:50 partnership with Hurricane Exploration.

Based on current estimates, the Bredford Dolphin rig is due to arrive on location and will spud the Wellington-1 well in early July. Drilling is expected to take two weeks to reach the Jurassic sandstone target.

Wellington is described as a conventional target with a potentially large hydrocarbon trap, which was recognised from existing seismic data.

Following this, Sunshine will re-direct its attention on Australia in early August. The company plans to deepen the existing Overston-1 conventional gas well in its wholly-owned ATP 645P permit.

Overston-1 was drilled in 2002 to a total depth of 2908m in the Tinowon sandstone. However, Sunshine believes the well was not drilled deep enough to penetrate the underlying Overston sandstone that produced gas in Overston 2A.

A successful result would significantly add to the known gas volumes in the area, according to Sunshine.

Then in mid-August, Sunshine will switch its attention at its 100%-held ATP 684P permit, where it plans to spud the Red Rock-2 well to address a large upside conventional gas prospect identified by recent 2D seismic data.

Sunshine says Red Rock, which covers more than 20 square kilometres, represents one of the largest, undrilled conventional structural prospects in Queensland. Mean prospective resource estimates suggest up to 100 bcf of recoverable gas is contained at this location within the target Permian Aldebaran sandstone.

This horizon is gas productive to the south-east in the Springton, Acturus and Turkey Creek gas fields.