The Sydney-based company on Friday said the Bibblewindi-9 well was free-flowing water at a rate of 110 barrels per day, with pumping to start in the next few days.

This was the first of the nine pilot wells, located in Gunnedah Basin permit PEL 238, to start being production tested. It said the rest would come online over the coming weeks.

Eastern Star said the start of production from Bibblewindi would be an “important milestone” in developing the “huge” CSM gas resource targeted in PEL 238.

Gas production will begin once the dewatering process is finished, the results of which will be measured to obtain independently certified gas reserves necessary for gas sales contracts.

Eastern Star, which holds a 65% stake in the project with Gastar Exploration (35%), added that the project was still running on time and under budget.