oilbarrel article from last night.

Neon Energy Spuds Second Vietnam Wildcat As The First Is Sidetracked Following A Gas Kick

Four years after it made its début offshore Vietnam through the A$5.7 million acquisition of an unlisted Aussie company, whose name it then took, Neon Energy is nearing the moment of truth as to the potential riches of these undrilled waters. The ASX-quoted company used the buyout to not only change its name, from Salinas Energy, but also its focus, with investor attention switching from heavy oil in California to wildcatting in South East Asia.
Since the September 2009 acquisition, which netted the company 100 per cent of Blocks 105 and 120 offshore Vietnam, Neon has reduced its exposure by bringing in farm-in partners, first Singapore's KrisEnergy and then more significantly the present operator, ENI. The Italian energy giant is now drilling ahead on two wells here, ensuring plenty of newsflow for investors and putting the prospectivity of the acreage to the test.
The Cua Lo-1 exploration well in Block 105 spudded in August to test five clastic reservoir targets ranging from the Lower Pliocene to Upper Miocene. This is shallow water drilling (less than 100 mtres of water) so the JV is using the Ensco 107 jack-up to drill to a TD of 2,826 metres. Neon will be carried through the well to a gross cost cap of US$25 million. This is a gas project and the gross recoverable resource estimates range from 3.9 TCF (best estimate) to 13.9 TCF (high case).
And so far the news is promising. Gas shows have been encountered in each of the upper three objectives before there was a gas-kick from an over-pressured section at a depth of 2,568 metres. The well has been stabilised and plugged back to a depth of 1,800 metres and, with working having resumed following suspensions for BOP repairs and the passage of Typhoons Wutip and Nari, a sidetrack is now being drilled. This will allow for wireline log data, including reservoir fluid samples, to be collected across the upper reservoirs before setting casing and drilling ahead to the deeper two objectives. Although this adds to costs, the presence of high pressure gas is encouraging – although it's still too early to draw any conclusions about reservoir scale or deliverability.
ENI has now spudded the US$39 million Ca Ngu-1 exploration well in Block 120 to test Pliocene clastic and Miocene carbonate reservoir targets. Here the gross recoverable prospective resource ranges from 181 million barrels (best) to 420 million barrels (high) and it's an important well because it's considered a play-finder: success here would derisk other larger prospects on the block. The high impact well is being drilled using the Songa Mercur semi-submersible in 270 metres of water to a TD of 1,500 metres. Neon is being carried through the well up to a gross cap of US$20 million after which it must assume its 25 per cent share of the costs (ENI has 50 per cent and KrisEnergy 25 per cent).
These are exciting times for the Australian company, with success at either prospect making that A$5.7 million entry into Vietnam of four years ago an absolute steal.