Partner Cue Energy said wireline logs had indicated the shallower Hedinia Sandstone may contain a significant hydrocarbon column but due to suspected formation damage, reliable pressure measurements in the potential reservoir interval could not be obtained.

The sidetrack will obtain a fresh hole through Hedinia to allow for evaluation.

In March, Oil Search spudded Cobra-1A from a newly constructed cellar after drilling difficulties caused the company to plug and abandon Cobra-1.

Cobra-1A was primarily directed at the Iagifu sandstone - the principal reservoir in PNG's Gobe and SE Gobe fields - in a seismically defined sub-thrust prospect and lies within PPL 190, some 13km east of the SE Gobe oil field and 7km east of the Bilip oil discovery.

Oil Search said Cobra-1 was the first well in PNG to target a sub-thrust play as the primary target.

Participants in the Cobra well operations in PPL 190 are operator Oil Search (62.556%), Murray Petroleum (26.497%) and Cue Energy (10.947%).