"Over the course of the next week the anticipated operations will be to set the 30-inch conductor,

drill ahead in 17.5-inch hole prior to setting 13 3/8 inch casing," 3D said.

"The primary target, Latrobe Group reservoirs as intersected in West Seahorse-1, are not anticipated to be intersected until the following week."

West Seahorse-3, in permit VIC/P57, is being drilled using the newly built jack-up rig, the West Triton. The Wardie-1 exploration well will follow.

The company said the rig would drill both wells from one location to reduce rig move time and costs.

The Wardie prospect was revealed in September last year by a detailed mapping and depth conversion analysis.

Latest mapping indicates Wardie may in fact be larger than West Seahorse, which is interpreted to contain between 5.8 and 10.3 million barrels.

If drilling in the West Seahorse field is successful, 3D said the development of the field would include an unmanned monotower producing from a single well with the potential for adding on other fields, including Wardie-1.

Other developments include an onshore processing plant, which would include crude stabilisation, water treatment, chemical injection and utilities, the company said.

3D owns 100% of VIC/P57.

Meanwhile, the CGG Veritas seismic vessel Pacific Titan has started the company's 2200km of 2D seismic operations in permit T/41P in the Bass Basin.

The survey will focus on the southern part of the permit to delineate previously identified leads and take about 10 days to complete.

3D said the seismic coverage of the area is sparse, the most recent of which was acquired in 1990.

Mapping of this data identified four main leads, the most highly rated being Dalrymple, a titled fault block trap identified on three seismic lines, the company said.

3D holds 100% of T/41P.