On Monday, the company announced that the well had intersected 150 metres of high quality net pay over a 300m gross vertical gas column.

Most of this pay was at the main reservoir level where 134m of net pay was encountered. Age dating has indicated that the overlying 13 metre thick gas sand is in the Montara Formation.

Nexus said the confirmation of this younger gas charged reservoir suggested the Crux field contained four distinct reservoir sections – the Montara Formation, Plover Formation and Nome Formation ‘A’ and ‘B’ sands.

Pressure data from Crux-3 and the other Crux wells confirm that the gas sands in each of the formations are in pressure communication across the field and form part of a single accumulation, the company said.

Nexus managing director Ian Tchacos described the results as “very encouraging.”

“The confirmation of a fourth reservoir section is expected to have very positive implications for the potential size of the Crux accumulation and the exploration prospectivity of the greater Crux area including the adjoining AC/P41 permit,” he said.

“The fact that all the reservoir sands encountered to date are in pressure communication with each other simplifies the development plan for the Crux liquids project.”

Looking ahead, Nexus plans to finish wireline logging, before undertaking a production test to help design the production facilities for the project.

Crux-3 well was the first of three wells planned for the greater Crux area over the next three months.

Two of the three wells, including the Crux-3 well, will be drilled in AC/P23 on the Crux field.

A third well will be drilled in the adjoining AC/P41 exploration permit to test the Libra exploration prospect, in which Nexus holds a 50% interest.

Nexus is operator and has a 85% stake in AC/P23, while farminee Osaka Gas has 15%.