At the Paprika-1 site, Ensign Rig 30 has relocated from Cadenza-1 and is currently rigging up.

Paprika-1 will test an anticlinal structure about 13km southwest of the Cadenza-1 new field gas discovery, 7.5km northwest of the Rossco-1 new field gas discovery, 10km south of the Nulla field, and 7.4km north of the Smegsy gas field.

Paprika-1 will be drilled to about 3100m penetrating the top of the Merrimelia Formation, with main targets in the Patchawarra Formation.

Additional, secondary potential is anticipated in the underlying Tirrawarra Formation.

Based on nearby well penetrations, there could be up to 50m of stacked net sand. Pre-drill estimates of the volumetric potential for in-place gas range between 9 billion cubic feet (P90) and 70 BCF (P10) with a P50 of 30 BCF.

Paprika-1 is expected to take about 21 days to drill.

Energy Investments is fully funding the Paprika-1 well and in the event of a commercial discovery will earn a 37.5% interest in any resultant production licence.

Paprika-1 will be the fourth well drilled in PEL 106 this year. All previous three wells have been cased and suspended as new field gas discoveries and potential future gas/condensate producers from the Patchawarra Formation

Meanwhile, as Great Artesian Oil and Gas announced in January, Rossco-1 was cased and suspended to enable evaluation of several interpreted gas and or gas/oil bearing zones during a cased-hole testing program.

Ensign Workover Rig 5 has moved to the Rossco site to conduct cased-hole production testing of a number of zones in the middle and lower Patchawarra Formation.

The program is expected to take up to two weeks to complete. It will involve testing up to three separate zones, the basal Patchawarra 29-7 and 29-9 sands and the overlying mid Patchawarra 29-1 and 27-9 sands.

All sand had interpreted net pay from previous wireline log analysis and pressure testing.

The testing will enable details of the quality, quantity and flow rates to be determined.

In the event of a commercial discovery, participating interests in Rossco-1 are Great Artesian, the operator which holds a 50% stake, Energy Investments (37.5%) and Enterprise Energy (12.5%).