The Perth-based junior is currently undertaking wireline logging in the well, which has now reached a total depth of 1700m.

On the weekend, a drill stem test was run over the interval 1314-1335m to test oil shows recorded in the first core sample.

The DST also recovered a small volume of water from the underlying Murta sands, below the greater Mirage Oil pool oil-water contact.

VicPet managing director John Kopcheff said the DST results reflected the variability of Murta oil sand reservoir quality over the Greater Mirage Murta Oil Pool area.

“We would have liked to have seen good reservoir quality in this well similar to that seen in Mirage-1, 4km to the south-west, but this was not to be,” he said.

“We are confident that in future development drilling, we will drill wells where the Murta oil sand reservoir quality will be much more favourable than seen in Jindivik-1.”

Further evaluation of the Greater Mirage Murta oil pool oil production potential will occur once pumping equipment is delivered to the Mirage Oil Field later this month or in early June.

In addition, VicPet said production was expected to start from the Mirage-3 and Mirage-4 wells in either late June or during July to bring total field production to more than 600 barrels per day.

The Hunt drilling rig will now leave PEL 115 and move to another operator, before returing to VicPet in August to drill three exploration wells in PEL 104/ PEL 111.

Drilling in PEL 104 will target the Growler and Wirraway prospects, which have the respective potential to contain up to 16 million and 8 million barrels of oil in target Jurassic sands.

Participants in Jindivik-1 and PEL 115 and PEl104/111 and their respective interests are: Victoria Petroleum N.L (Operator - 40%), Impress Ventures Ltd (40%) and Roma Petroleum N.L. (20%).