Preparations are currently underway to start drilling the 9½-inch pilot hole, which will continue drilling to a total depth of 3330m. The pilot hole will then be plugged back and the main horizontal well bore will be drilled through the Longtom gas sands.

The Melbourne-based company said progress over the past week had been good and, according to the current schedule, the pilot hole is expected to reach total depth by this Sunday, July 23.

Longtom-3 is part of a sole risk appraisal program operated by Nexus, which has increased its best estimate of the Longtom gas field by 38% to 438 billion cubic feet of possible gas reserves.

Meanwhile in VicP39, Nexus said a rig is still being mobilised to the Galloway-1 well site, expected to spud next week.

The Galloway-1 exploration well will be drilled from an onshore location by deviating the well into the offshore exploration block Vic/P39 (v) near Seaspray in southeast Victoria.

Santos and Tap Oil are both farming-in to Vic/P39 (v) through the drilling of Galloway-1. The post-farm-in interests in the permit will be Santos (operator with a 37.5% interest), Nexus Energy (Aust) with 37.5% and Tap (Shelfal) with 25%.