The liner was run during the week after the drilled 8.5 inch hole was enlarged and cleaned from a depth of 2458m to 2670m to resolve issues coming from poor hole conditions.

Oil Search said it plans to drill below the Iagifu sandstone in a 6 inch hole and complete logging over the Hedinia and Iagifu reservoir intervals.

Cobra-1A is primarily directed at the Iagifu sandstone - the principal reservoir in PNG's Gobe and SE Gobe fields - in a seismically defined sub-thrust prospect.

Oil Search said Cobra-1 is the first well in PNG to target a sub-thrust play as the primary target.

Participants in Cobra-1A are operator Oil Search (62.556%), Murray Petroleum (26.497%) and Cue Energy (10.947%).