Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) said that it had drilled down to the first casing point at its latest well on the Tendara licence in Morocco.
TE-8 has so far been sunk to a depth of 461 metres and a 13-3/8 inch casing is being set in cement in the Upper Lias formation. The second casing point is at 2,070 metres.
Work began Sunday and is likely to take 40-50 days to complete with drilling going down to a vertical depth of 2,975 metres.
Assuming gas is encountered in the main well bore, a further 30-day side-track will be drilled to prove a potentially deeper gas contact 900 metres to the north-west, Sound said.
