(Sharecast News) - Falcon Oil & Gas announced the spudding of the Velkerri 76 S2-1 well in the Beetaloo Sub-Basin of Australia's Northern Territory on Thursday, with joint venture partner Origin Energy B2, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ASX-listed Origin Energy.
The AIM-traded firm said Velkerri 76 was targeting the Velkerri play along the south-eastern flank of the Beetaloo Sub-Basin, which was predicted to be in a liquids-rich gas window.

It said the primary objectives for the drilling was to drill a vertical pilot well to acquire core and log and conduct a diagnostic fracture injection test data across the Velkerri, and to penetrate the Velkerri formation to assess hydrocarbon maturity, saturation and reservoir quality.

The goals also included providing further information on the areal distribution of the Velkerri formation, and collecting data for potential future horizontal drilling, completion, stimulation and production testing, including ability to flow liquids-rich gas.

"The spudding of Velkerri 76 marks yet another exciting milestone for the joint venture and we look forward to updating the market as soon as results become available," said Falcon's chief executive officer Philip O'Quigley.

At 0815 BST, shares in Flacon Oil & Gas were up 0.47% at 5.35p.