Personnel and equipment have arrived on site to begin swabbing its onshore Gippsland Wombat-3 well. This work was due to begin tomorrow, 13 January, the company said.

Swabbing was halted in December as the equipment the company had on site was not suitable, but about one barrel of oil was brought to surface, according to Lakes.

Wombat-3 was drilled in September and October last year and successfully flowed gas near the top of the Strezleki formation at an estimated rate of between 3 and 4 million cubic feet a day.

Flows soon dropped to 65,000 cubic feet a day because of tight formation and “bridging” of the reservoir caused by the formation above the gas sand falling back into the hole, Lakes said.

“We consider this an excellent prospect for fracture stimulation, which will be addressed at a later stage,” the company said in a statement.

“For the moment we are anxious to see if oil will flow from the lower level. Should we be successful in our endeavours this will have a significant bearing on our future directions.”

The Wombat Block is located in PEP 157. An overriding royalty of 5% of the wellhead value of any hydrocarbon production is payable to Roma Petroleum, a former holder of the permit.