The Brisbane-based company also said on Friday that it had finished an Avery-funded 3D seismic acquisition program in the Barta Block of ATP 752P to detail drilling prospects.

Bow said it would be fully carried on the Wompi Block drilling program, which Avery will fund. Bow will retain 25% direct working interest in the block when the farm-in drilling program is finished.

It will operate the initial three-well back-to-back exploration program in the block.

Bow said the first well, Marracooda-2, would twin a well with an interpreted oil column in a zone, which produced at high oil flow rates from wells in adjacent tenements. The second planned is Gamma-1, with a potential of 6.11 million barrels (MMbbl) of recoverable oil.

Bow has been granted the exploration rights to ATP 752P for the next 12 years.

It said ongoing prospect generation and seismic reprocessing work in ATP 752P has so far confirmed more than 20 leads and prospects, which offer “substantial” upside potential near oil fields in adjacent leases with high initial oil flow rates.

Under a rig-sharing agreement with Beach Petroleum, three rig slot options for the Hunt 2 rig have been exercised. The first well is due to be drilled in the second half of December.

Meanwhile, Bow also a 3D seismic acquisition in the Barta Block of ATP 752P in the immediate vicinity of the Cook oil field had finished this month. A line clearing and chaining for a 100km 2D infill seismic survey have also ended and recording of the 2D seismic is due to begin shortly.

It said two of the best prospects detailed by the infill and 3D seismic data are to be selected as part of the Avery farm-in program in the Barta Block with drilling planned for the second quarter of 2007.

One of the prospects being detailed by the seismic programs has the potential to contain up to 52MMbbl of recoverable oil in one zone, Bow said.