Rig selection and availability After an invitation to tender (ITT) process, the Ensign 963 rig has been selected as the preferred rig for the drilling program. Buru has now entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the rig including an initial payment for the commencement of mobilisation. Formal contract negotiations in accordance with the LOI are in progress to be concluded in due course. The ITT requirements were for a fully crewed, high capacity rig, capable of drilling the deep Rafael 1 exploration well and the Ungani 8 horizontal well. There are few rigs in Australia capable of meeting these requirements and the Company is pleased that the Ensign 963 is available in the time frame required to meet the program objectives. The timing of the start of the program is partly dependent on the timing of the necessary pre-acceptance maintenance and function checks required to be carried out by Ensign, and also on Buru’s rig acceptance inspections, with the rig currently expected to be on the Kurrajong 1 drilling location in late May to early June.
