QGC, which was last week approached with a $606 million hostile takeover offer from Santos, says the Bellevue-7 and Bellevue-6 wells have intersected 34.8m and 29.4m of gassy coals, respectively, in the Juandah and Taroom coal measures.

After wireline logging, all significant seams intersected in both wells were under-reamed and 7-inch pre-perforated casing was set across the Juandah coal measures.

Both wells are currently suspended awaiting a workover rig to drill out the plug and clean out the well before running the pump.

QGC is operator and holds a 60.625% stake in ATP 610P, while Origin owns 29.375% and Sentient has 10%.

In nearby permit ATP 632P, QGC plans to spud the next well, Bellevue-3, once the drilling rig is repaired.

Also in the permit, the joint venture is revisiting the Berwyndale-2R well, which was drilled in 2001 as an exploration well to investigate the CSM potential of the upper Juandah coal measures.

The well has now reached a total depth of 610m, after intersecting 20.3m of gassy coal in the lower Juandah and Taroom Coal measures and collecting 22 coal samples for desorption and adsorption analyses.

After wireline logging, the well has been suspended awaiting the start of the drill stem testing program.

Likewise in ATP 651P, QGC, in a different JV with Lucas Coal Seam Gas, has re-entered the Woleebee Creek-2 well, where workover operations are now complete and production testing of the Juandah coal measures has started.

Last month, QGC announced it was undertaking an aggressive new drilling program aimed at proving up CSM reserves in its eastern Surat Basin acreage.

The company expects results from the new drilling and testing program will accelerate the commercialisation of its interests on the Undulla Nose and increase proven and probable reserves to at least 1000 petajoules.

The program is also designed to evaluate the coal seam potential of QGC’s interests beyond the Undulla Nose and certify reserves at these prospects.