Hardman spikes

Hydrocarbon junior explorer Hardman Resources NL has enjoyed a healthy spike in its share price since giving the green light to its Colombo gas drilling project near Rome.

Drilling on the highly prospective prospect was delayed almost a year while Hardman worked towards approval from the Italian authorities for site access and drilling operations.

Hardman is the operator and holds 40 per cent equity in the well through wholly-owned subsidiary Planet Oil Limited.

Other equity holders include JKX Oil and Gas plc (35 per cent), Italmin Exploration Srl (15 per cent) and Northern Petroleum plc (10 per cent).

Hardman managing director Ted Ellyard said Colombo 1 would be drilled to a depth of 600 metres to test a seismically defined anticlinal structure with two potential reservoir targets with potential gas reserves of 35 billion cubic feet recoverable.