In a statement, the company said as of yesterday morning, the Juha-4 well was being sidetracked at a depth of 892m.

Three wells drilled on the Juha structure in the early 1980s proved the presence of a condensate-rich gas accumulation.

The Juha-4 exploration well is targeting an untested block that may be in communication with the existing wells.

Juha-4 is located 35km northwest of the Hides gas field. It follows on from the Juha-5 well, which was drilled in the same segment as the earlier wells.

Oil Search is operator with a 31.5% stake in Juha-4, while ExxonMobil holds a 56% interest and Merlin Petroleum has 12.5%.

Elsewhere in PNG, Oil Search had yesterday morning drilled the Kutubu-2 well ahead at a depth of 1671m, where it was running in hole to drill out a cement plug.

“During the week, a number of cement plugs were set over certain zones in the borehole where there have been persistent losses,” the company said.

Kutubu-2, which is in PPL 219, about 18km east of the main Iagifu-Hedinia field, is primarily targeting the Toro Sandstone, with a secondary target in the Iagifu Sandstone.

Participants in Kutubu-2 are Oil Search (operator with a 72.52% stake), Ampolex (18.73%) and Merlin (8.75%).

Meanwhile in Yemen, Oil Search said it was drilling the Al Magrabah-1 exploration well, in which it is partners with Arc Energy, ahead at a depth of 2131m.

Al Magrabah-1, in Block 35 in central-eastern Yemen, is a vertical well designed to intersect the Qishn Clastics at a depth of about 1771m on the mapped structural crest

of a structure.

Participants in Block 35 are operator Oil Search (Yemen) (34.2105%), Virgin Resources (39.4737%), Arc Energy (15.7895%), and MND Exploration and Production (10.5263%).

In Egypt, Oil Search’s operator Sipetrol International is drilling the Rana-1 exploration well ahead at a depth of 1874m.

Rana-1 is Oil Search’s third well in an extended drilling program in the East Ras Qattara block.

Its objectives are reservoirs in the Cretaceous Abu Roash, Bahariya and Kharita Formations, with a prognosed total depth of 3711m. Production storage facilities are located in nearby adjacent concessions.

Oil Search holds a 49.5% interest in Rana-1 while Sipetrol has 50.5%.