InterOil said that following the arrival last month of specialist drilling equipment, the well was now pressure-controlled.
The company now plans to run Gyro surveys to determine the 3D location of the well bore while drilling continues through the target zone using managed pressure drilling techniques.
InterOil announced the Elk discovery, its first commercial gas discovery, in May and a month later said the well had flowed wet gas at a rate of 30-50 million cubic feet per day.
InterOil chief executive Phil Mulacek previously described Elk-1 as a “huge well” with the potential to kick-start the company’s plans to develop a liquefied natural gas plant in the country.
Elk-1 is in PPL-238 in the company’s Eastern Papuan Basin exploration portfolio, which includes PPL-237 and PPL-236.
InterOil owns the Napanapa refinery in Port Moresby, the only petroleum refinery in the country.
