Last Friday (12), Australian oil and gas company FAR started drilling an oil exploration well, called Bambo-1, in Block A2 off the coast of The Gambia.

FAR, which halves its exploration share in the area with Malaysian company Petronas, said the drillship arrived off the Gambian coast on Friday, and dug the Bambo-1 well in 930 meters of water depth in Block A2.

The well is projected to be drilled to a depth of 3400 meters over approximately 30 days.

The well is further designed to drill a series of vertically stacked targets with a potential resource of 1.1 billion barrels, which is estimated to be recoverable.

FAR CEO Cath Norman said the company is keeping spirits high because they are drilling the Gambian coast, and because they have the support of the government during a challenging period of uncertainty and delays.

FAR estimates that the geologic success chances for the various scenarios range from 7% to 36%.