TESTS ON MALTA OIL EXPLORATORY WELL IMMINENT, 1999-02-19 (photo)

An engineer climbs up alongside stacked drilling pipes on an oil exploratory drilling platform outside the village of Kercem on the island of Gozo, three miles north of Malta, on February 19. Over 8,000 metres of pipes used in the drilling process have served their purpose and have been removed from the exploratory hole. The gases found so far indicate that the presence of good-quality oil is highly likely. Tests being carried out should indicate whether oil and gas deposits exist in commercial quantities. The drilling, which has gone down over 8000 metres into the 200 million year old rock, was carried out by Italian company Saipem S.p.a. DZL/CLH/