The Perth-based company yesterday said Eremia-6 had been drilled to a total depth of 2315m measured depth and wireline logging was underway.

A forward program to complete the well for testing and possible future oil production will be based on the wireline logging analysis, it said.

Arc said based on logging while drilling (LWD) resistivity and gamma logs, the well has intersected the Dongara Sandstone reservoir at 2052m true vertical depth subsea, about 8m above the previous highest intersection in the field.

“From the LWD logs, Eremia-6 is interpreted to have intersected a 23m oil column with an oil water contact at approximately the same level as the original field oil water contact,” Arc said.

“It is interpreted therefore that this location has not been drained by the existing producing wells in the field.”

“Based on this preliminary information, this is an excellent result,” managing director Eric Streitberg said.

“It requires verification by wireline logging and probably production testing, to determine the reserves and productivity implications, but in both cases, a positive impact is expected.”

Participants in Eremia-6 and the L1/L2 joint venture are Arc and Origin Energy Developments, both with a 50% stake.

Canning Basin

Meanwhile, Arc also announced it had increased its interest in the Point Torment area in the Canning Basin in Western Australia from 8% to 32.95% and will assume operatorship of the area.

It said the boost came after Empire Oil and Gas farmed-out drilling costs of the Stokes Bay-1 well, up-dip from the 1992 Point Toment-1 gas discovery well, which tested gas at rates of up to 4.3 million cubic feet of gas per day.

Stokes Bay-1 will test the extent of the Point Torment gas accumulation and underlying Valentine Prospect. It will be the first well drilled in Arc’s dry season drilling program in April and May 2007.

Following the farm-out, the new EP 104 and R1 joint venture participants are Arc Energy with 32.95%, Empire Oil & Gas subsidiary, Gulliver Productions (14.8%), Indigo Oil (5.5%), First Australian Resources (8%), Pancontinental Oil & Gas (10%), Emerald Gas (18.75%) and Phoenix Resources (10%).