An Arrow Energy (80%) statement this morning said three planned additional wells on the Tipton West Field pilot in ATP 683 are now on production and showing rapidly increasing production rates.

It said the initial 4 well pilot was brought on stream in May this year and pressure responses were quickly seen in monitoring wells up to 7 km away. This proved excellent continuity in the coal seams and led to a 3P reserves certification by Netherlands Sewell and Associates Inc. (NSAI) of 1,086 PJ.

Due to the considerable size and extent of the resource (as evidenced by the 3P reserves certification), it was decided to accelerate lowering of the pressure in the coals, to enable substantial quantities of gas to escape, by drilling an additional 3 pilot wells.

The first of these wells, TWP-13, was brought online on 18 September and is now producing 141 mcfd, The second, TWP-9, was brought online on 29 September and is producing 15 mcfd and rising. The third well, TWP-11, was brought online on 30 September and is producing 55 mcfd and rising. In total the pilot is now producing approximately 286 mcfd.

Comet Ridge holds the remaining 20% in the project. First gas from the Tipton field is scheduled for January 2006 at a rate of 10.2 PJ p.a.