Junior partner Impress Energy said the well is expected to spud in mid-January, subject to drier weather, once the roads have sufficiently dried out for the movement of heavy vehicles.

The first in a 10-well exploration program, Wirraway-1 was originally due to spud in mid-December.

Despite the setback, the same joint venture does not expect the wet weather will impact on operations around the Wilipinine-4 well, which is targeting the Tomcat Prospect, according to Impress. Located in nearby PEL 115, this well is also due to spud before the middle of this month.

The PEL 104 and PEL 115 JV participants comprise VicPet (operator with a 40% stake), Impress (40%) and Roma Petroleum (20%).