Managing director Tino Guglielmo said Chester-1 is the first of three wells planned for PEL 113 this year.

The well is targeting mean undiscovered oil reserves potential of 0.8 million barrels and a mean unrisked gas resource of 0.5 billion cubic feet.

Chester-1 will test for oil and gas in a number of potential hydrocarbon bearing sands on the western margin of the Daralingie Trough, which houses the Daralingie gas and oil field.

According to Stuart, the Chester structure is ideally located to receive migrating oil from the Daralingie trough and is also mapped with faults along its southern and eastern margins, which could provide a further migration pathway from the Patchawarra Formation to Eromanga reservoirs.

The well's primary targets are the McKinlay Member, Birkhead Formation and the Epsilon Formation. The Patchawarra Formation is a secondary target.

Chester-1 will be drilled by the Century Rig 3 and has a target depth of 2090m. It will be followed by Subzero-1 and Brew-1. As always, Stuart's Cooper Basin wells are named after Melbourne Cup-winning racehorses.

Following Brew-1, Stuart will move offshore to drill the Bazzard structure in the Gippsland Basin permit Vic/P53, in September.

Stuart owns 100% of Chester-1.