The Sydney-based company today said the next well, Bibblewindi 5, is planned for fraccing tomorrow.

Eastern Star said so far, each of the fracs on Bibblewindi 3, 6, 7 and 8 had successfully placed either the planned or a greater volume of sand than predicted.

Using water or cross-linked gel fraccing fluid, the entire fracture stimulation program is expected to be finished within two weeks, it said.

Thereafter, the wells will be equipped with pumps and sequentially placed on production test before being de-watered and starting commercial gas production.

Earlier this month, Eastern Star reported that tests confirmed all of its wells had intersected a highly permeable coal reservoir in the Bohena seam.

The tightly spaced Bibblewindi production pilot, with wells spaced 500m apart, was designed to accelerate de-watering of the Bohena coal seam and to achieve commercial gas production rates as soon as possible.

It hopes to establish initial proven and probable (2P) reserves certification by mid-to-late 2007.

The Bohena Project Area, covering 260 square kilometres in PEL 238, contains up to 3700 petajoules of gas-in-place in coal seams of the Late Permian Black Jack Formation and the Early Permian Maules Creek.

PEL 238, in which Eastern Star now holds a 65% stake, is believed to contain one of the largest onshore natural gas accumulations in Australia.

Alone it totals 17,000PJ (17 trillion cubic feet) of gas-in-place in the two coal seams that are over 10m thick in each of two coal-bearing formations.