The company said the Toro and Digimu sandstones logging program was interrupted when a logging tool was lost downhole, but data acquired before the loss of the instrument confirmed hydrocarbons.
Oil Search expects to resume logging as soon as possible.
NW Paua-1 ST3 in PDL 5 is five kilometres northeast of the Moran oil field and six kilometres northwest of Paua-1x.
The well targets the Toro and Digimu sandstones in a more optimal location on the known hanging-wall structure than the Paua-1x well, which was drilled in the mid 1990s.
Participants in NW Paua are Oil Search at 52.5% and ExxonMobil at 47.5%.
