Nuenco has received the first tranche of the cash and share consideration for this purchase from Bounty.

“The company is pleased to develop this position in Bounty which gives Nuenco exposure to a drilling program in Australia now scheduled to start in March 2005,” managing director Anthony Kain said.

The funding generated by the sale of Utopia will allow Nuenco to pay its way on multiple shallow gas wells or several deep wells in its Californian acreage which is now the focus of the company’s operations and resources.

“We look forward to starting the next stage of the Jack Hamar drilling program as a fully paid-up holder of a 25% working interest in both these blocks,” Kain said.

“Jack Hamar 1-1 uncovered two different plays in our Lost Hills acreage and the upcoming program will test the second of these, while the testing program on 1-1 will begin to define the first.”

That first play is focused on the extension of the prolific Monterey fields to the immediate north of South East Lost Hills and is now to be tested by new operator Orchard and its recently formed team which have experience in the Monterey fields.

The second play will be focused on shallower bright spots outside the Monterey on an anticline that extends through the South East Lost Hills acreage. This anticline is well established and productive in other areas, but its South East Lost Hills extension is mostly untested.

“The operation here remains in the hands of Nahabedian Exploration Group who have expertise in developing such plays,” Nuenco said.

The four-well drilling program on this play is scheduled to start at the end of February but weather is affecting rig operations and this could delay the start date by a few days, the company said.