Salamander Energy has spudded its latest well in the Gulf of Thailand.
The company, which was left disappointed after finding a water-wet deposit in its Rayong prospect operations earlier this month, has started drilling an exploration well in the nearby Surin prospect, on the north-west block of the Western Central sub-basin.
The prospect, estimated to contain up to 16MMbo, is being drilled by the Atwood Mako jack-up rig and is one of five more wells the company plans for this year, with a further six to be drilled in the region next year.
“Exploration success at Surin would open the play in the Western Central sub-basin and de-risk the neighbouring Ayutthaya and Buriram prospects,” the company said.
Drilling is expected to take around 10 days, after which the Atwood Mako will return to the Bravo platform to continue development work on the Bualuang field.