In what is expected to be the largest combined E&P drilling programme in the Gippsland basin in the Bass Strait off Victoria since the 1980s, Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd and its joint venture partner BHP Billiton Ltd are preparing to locate and extract oil and natural gas from smaller fields that show potential and that are near existing infrastructure in the mature basin. The JV is negotiating to contract a drilling rig for a long-term drilling program to commence in February 2004. The rig will be capable of drilling wells from either existing platforms or in new locations. The programme may extend into 2005, depending on the success of initial wells, the JV said.
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