Arc said this morning that the well had been completed for production and briefly flowed to clean-up the open-hole section. Once clean oil was flowing consistently and the pressure had built, the well was shut-in to allow the rig to be moved

The Hovea 8 well was drilled from the Hovea Production Facility as a horizontal well with the Dongara Sandstone section located between the Hovea 3 and Hovea 4 wells. Hovea 8 has now successfully demonstrated that horizontal drilling in the Dongara Sandstone onshore in the Perth Basin can be achieved.

Successful horizontal wells are expected to allow optimal recovery of the reserves in Hovea and similar fields and provide a strong impetus for further exploration.

At the completion of Jingemia 2 it is intended to take the rig back for the Hovea 9 appraisal well, Arc said.