In late July, the company acquired a 10% working interest in the West Andrew Prospect, a three-way dip fault closure, located on a 400-acre (905-hectare) lease block in South Louisiana’s Vermillion Parish.

Yesterday, the Great Wall Rig GWD 172 was drilling the exploration well ahead at a depth of 580 feet (177m).

Neumin Production imported the newly manufactured rig from China, and Chinese engineers assembled it on location.

Texas-based operator Sandalwood Exploration is expected to take 53 days to drill the well to a planned total depth of 14,000ft.

First Australian said the West Andrew prospect was defined by a combination of subsurface well control and 3D seismic data, and lies on a prolific “Camerina” trend where historical production exceeds 1.7 trillion cubic feet of gas.

The Camerina (Upper Frio age) interval produces in the neighbouring Andrew Field area. Net sand maps of the area show the West Andrew Prospect could hold about 60ft of pay in the Camerina-1 sand and about 40ft in the Camerina-2 sand, with total potential estimated at 20 billion cubic feet gas and 200,000 barrels of oil.

Existing nearby infrastructure would allow for a quick sales turnaround, if the exploration well successfully produces more than 7 million cubic feet of gas per day.

After the well reaches casing point, First Australian’s interest will drop to 7.5%. All other participants are North American companies, including the Reeder Energy group, which is participating with First Australian in several other ventures.