Entek listed at a slight premium, and today was trading between 21c and 21.5c.

The company’s first exploration well, Hornet-1, will be drilled near the historic Toolachee gas field in PEL 115, one of the Cooper Basin’s first commercial gas discoveries made by Santos and Delhi Petroleum, 35 years ago southeast of Moomba.

PEL 115 surrounds the Toolachee field and is adjacent to several other large Cooper Basin producing gas and oil fields.

Entek’s executive chairman, Joe Mercorella, said Entek planned to participate in five to seven wells before the end of calendar 2004.

The company’s ASX listing follows its $3.5 million Initial Public Offer (IPO) which closed oversubscribed.

“This is a most pleasing result for an IPO that was fully underwritten and is a strong vote of confidence in our oil and gas assets and forward exploration program,” Mercorella said.

“It is also clearly a reflection of the strong investor interest in the Cooper Basin which is still generating new discoveries so long after oil and gas was first found in the Basin in 1963,” he said.

The IPO, which was fully underwritten by Taylor Collison, offered up to 17.5 million ordinary shares at $0.20 cents per share to raise up to $3.5 million.

Entek will make its ASX debut with approximately 3,160 shareholders and 39.5 million ordinary shares on issue, notionally valuing the company at listing at $7.9 million.

Entek has a 12.5% joint venture interest in six petroleum exploration licences, which cover in excess of 16,850sq.km in PELs 86, 87, 89 in the Eromanga Basin and PELs 104, 111 and 115 in the Cooper Basin all within South Australia.

Victoria Petroleum NL is the operator across all six blocks.

Entek has committed to total exploration expenditure for 2004-2005 of $1.4 million.