Mputa-1 was spudded on December 22. Hardman drilled the 18 5/8 inch surface hole to 107 metres where the 13 3/8 inch casing was run and cemented.

At midnight on 27 December the rig was waiting for the imminent arrival of parts to replace a broken driveshaft before resuming drilling. The required parts have been located and are being airfreighted to Uganda.

Mputa-1 is targeting a structural prospect with potential multiple objectives. The prospect was defined by the 2005 onshore seismic survey and oil seeps have been identified in the immediate area.

The planned total depth is about 1,100 metres. The well is 220 kilometres northwest of the capital Kampala and eight kilometres from Lake Albert.

Equities in Block 2 are: Hardman Petroleum Africa Pty Ltd (operator) 50% and Tullow Oil 50%.

Meanwhile in Mauritania, the ‘Stena Tay’ drilling rig spudded the Zoule-1 exploration well in PSC Area C, Block 6 on December 25.

Zoule-1 will target Cretaceous turbidite channel sands and has a planned total depth of 3,730 metres. The well is located in 782 metres of water about70 kilometres from the shore and 27 kilometres southeast of Pelican-1, a Cretaceous gas discovery drilled in Block 7 in late 2003.

Interests in Block 6 are Woodside Mauritania 37.578%, Petronas Carigali Overseas Snd Bhd 35%, Hardman Petroleum (Mauritania) 22.422% and Roc Oil 5%.