dow jones report

[Dow Jones] So far so good for AWE (AWE.AU) as it continues to get promising results from the early stages of its A$175 million drilling campaign. Rockhopper-1 exploration well in Australia's Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania, finds gas throughout several zones, with measurement-while-drilling results encouraging enough to prompt detailed wireline logging, testing. Find comes a month after Trefoil-2 appraisal well, about 12 kilometers away, encountered several gas-bearing sandstones, confirmed reservoir continuity between Trefoil-2 and Trefoil-1. Shareholders, however, won't be getting too excited until more detailed testing to assess significance, commercial viability of Trefoil-2, Rockhopper-1 is complete. Apart from those two wells, AWE has substantial shareholdings in another six targeted to be drilled by June 30, 2010. Al Meashar-1 in Yemen is currently being drilled and there's four still to come in New Zealand, one in Indonesia. AWE up 3 cents to A$2.76.(RRK)