Farminees Red Sky Energy and Magellan have each agreed to pay 49% of the Rainbird-1 exploration well costs, in return for a 24.5% stake in any commercial discovery.

Stuart as operator will have a 36% stake, while Cooper Energy has the remaining 15%.

Before farming-in to PEL 93, Red Sky undertook an airborne geochemical survey over the central and eastern areas of the permit in which it detected oil and gas micro-seepage anomalies over the Rainbird structure.

The Rainbird-1 exploration well, to be spudded later this month, will be the first test of Red Sky’s geochemical method in the Cooper Basin.