Papua New Guinea

InterOil Corp., Toronto, spudded the Elk-1 exploration well on PPL 238 and is to drill to 10,000 ft to target Miocene Puri fractured limestone and Eocene Mendi limestone.

Feb. 22, 2006

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Feb. 22 -- InterOil Corp., Toronto, spudded the Elk-1 exploration well on PPL 238 and is to drill to 10,000 ft to target Miocene Puri fractured limestone and Eocene Mendi limestone.

The well is to penetrate a culmination identified by airborne gravity and confirmed by an August 2005 2D seismic survey of 74 line miles. Puri is expected at 4,000 ft. Elk-1 is the third well in an eight-well, $125 million drilling program.