Victoria Petroleum N.L. as Operator for the PEL 104 Joint Venture advises that the current operation was pulling out of the 8 ½ inch hole at 1,737 metres in order to carry out a Drill Stem Test in the basal Birkhead sand over the interval 1,728 – 1,737 metres in response to oil shows.

Up to 50% sample fluorescence and increase in background total gas from 2 to 17 units were observed over the interval 1,728 – 1,737 metres.

Growler-1 will be the first well drilled by the PEL 104 Joint Venture in this under-explored Jurassic area of the permit which covers the western flank of the productive Patchawarra Trough of the Cooper Basin.

Growler-1 is located 16 kilometres west of the Santos Limited operated Callabonna Field which recovered oil from the Jurassic Basal Birkhead sands on drill stem test.

The Growler Prospect is located in an analogous geological position with respect to the Permian source kitchen which provided the oil for the August 2006 Callawonga Jurassic oil discovery of 2,400 barrels of oil per day some 40 kilometres to the south operated by Beach Petroleum.

The Growler-1 well is targeting the seismically defined four way dip closed Growler structure interpreted to have the potential to contain a combined recoverable oil target of up to 16 million barrels of oil in multiple reservoirs, if oil is present.

The principal objectives of the well are the Basal Birkhead, Hutton and Poolawanna Sandstones over the interval 1,700 metres to 2,079 metres.

Commenting on the drilling and oil shows at Growler-1, Victoria Petroleum NL’s (Vicpet) Managing Director John Kopcheff said; “Victoria Petroleum is pleased to be drilling Growler-1, the first well to be drilled by the PEL 104 Joint Venture in the western part of PEL 104. The oil shows seen in the basal Birkhead sand are encouraging, as they appear similar to those encountered in the Callabonna-1 Birkhead oil discovery, 16 kilometres to the north east. “ “However we must await the results of the drill stem test to evaluate the real significance of the oil shows we have seen.”