Partner Santos has bailed out of the well, leaving the Howard Brady-led junior producer to sole-risk the drilling, footing the entire bill but keeping all the revenues in the case of a discovery.

Mosaic said although logs confirmed gas and oil in the Rewan section, they were drilling ahead to the lower Permian Tinowan sandstone before testing any of the zones in the well.

They are now assembling the nitrogen drilling apparatus in order to drill the primary target with minimal chance of damaging the formation with heavy drilling fluids.