The wells will use Nafta’s IDM 2000 drilling rig which was built in 2008 and is currently working in Germany. The rig will be mobilised in May 2010 and is expected to spud the Trzek-2 appraisal well in the same month. Both wells will require horizontal sections to be drilled. Once the Trzek-2 well is completed the Nafta 2000 rig will move on to the next appraisal well on the Siekierki project.

Nafta Pila is based in Poland and is active in Europe, across the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East and Northern Africa.

Rowen Bainbridge, chief executive of Aurelian, said: “I am delighted to have Nafta Pila and the IDM 2000 available for our Siekierki tight gas project. We now have a first class rig and a first class drilling contractor, with extensive expertise in these kinds of wells, to drill two exciting appraisal wells on our flagship project. As announced in our strategy update on 26 October 2009, we continue to evaluate technical partners and sources of capital to optimise full field development.

“This follows on from the recently signed gas sales agreement with Kulczyk Investments and is another significant milestone for Siekierki; advancing the project and in doing so creating further value for shareholders.We look forward to working with Nafta in making the Siekierki project a success and delivering first gas for our customer under the agreement in 2011.”