Fresh with success from testing its Cheal-A3X well, Austral-Pacific Energy has started the nearby Honeysuckle-1 well in onshore Taranaki.

Company commercial manager Jenni Lean confirmed to EnergyReview.Net that Honeysuckle-1 spudded at 1.30am today and was expected to reach the targeted shallow Miocene-aged Mount Messenger formation by the end of the month. Austral holds a 30% stake in PEP 38741 and operates the licence.

Yesterday company chief executive Dave Bennett said he was delighted with the performance of Cheal-A3X, in neighbouring PEP 38738, with the well producing an average 320 barrels of oil per day from the Mt Messenger sands, with no associated water and 225,000 cubic feet per day of associated gas, since Sunday. The oil was the typical Taranaki high-value, light, sweet waxy crude.

Click here to read the rest of today's news stories.