But Carnarvon told the market it believed the deviated well could achieve higher flows than the current choked rate, as the flowing wellhead pressures on casing and tubing remained high at 280-285psi.

The junior cited comments by the Thailand Department of Mineral Fuels that this was the highest flow rate ever achieved by any oil well drilled onshore Thailand.

These test results confirm the presence of a 150 oil column at NSE, it said.

As a result, Carnarvon and Pan Orient are considering bringing the NSE into full field development with 12 horizontal wells.

“Once again the Na Sanun East Field has delivered a pleasant surprise with the L44H-D1 well flowing at a record rate of near on 4000 barrels of oil per day,” Carnarvon chief executive Ted Jacobson said.

“Although sales of oil is currently restricted to between 5500 to 6000 barrels of oil per day by infrastructure limitations, the operator Pan Orient is working hard to significantly upgrade production facilities over the coming months with significant results already being achieved.”

L44H-D1 was the third well to be drilled into the NSE’s central fault compartment and is the structurally highest volcanic reservoir penetration within the field encountered to date.

Pan Orient is operator of the field and holds a 60% interest, while Carnarvon has the remaining 40%.