Tap, the operator of Amulet-3, began drilling the sidetrack well on Friday and it has since reached its planned depth of 700m.

Tap said log information from the well indicated the intersection of a 15m gross oil column in a sandy section up-dip from the oil-bearing sand intersected in Amulet-2.

“The interpreted oil water contact in Amulet-3 is consistent with the implied oil water contact from Amulet-2, suggesting that the oil-bearing intervals in both wells are likely connected. The reservoir appears to be interbedded with shales with a lower net to gross in the younger section,” the company said.

Tap said the sidetrack well was designed to establish if the oil-bearing sands intersected in Amulet-2 extend up-dip and to the east, which was subsequently confirmed.

However, due to due to rig slot constraints, Tap said no further evaluation would be conducted from the well and it would now be plugged and abandoned as planned.

Tap said all three wells drilled from the location had encountered oil columns under the regional sealing shale sequence.

“Seismic data indicates the possibility for additional traps further up-dip and to the east and consequently additional drilling will likely be conducted in due course to establish the full potential of this oil-prone area.”

Last week, Tap said it believed the main reservoir at Amulet could deliver 10-15 million barrels of light oil and preliminary interpretation indicated flow rates of up to 10,000 bbl of oil per day could be achieved using a horizontal well.

The Amulet oil field is located in production license WA-8-L, 34km northwest of the Legendre oil field and production facilities.

Amulet-3 participants are Tap (Shelfal), which holds a 20% stake, permit operator Santos (37.37%) and Kufpec Australia (42.63%).