Gastem has received the drill permit for the Gastem Ristigouche-Partie-Sud-Est No1 well in Quebec, Canada, applied for in Dec. 2011. The site access and the pad have already been prepared and the company is hoping to spud the well this fall, subject to rig availability.

The primary target of the Ristigouche well is an anticlinal structure in the oil-bearing Silurian West Point formation known as the Sellarsville slice. The secondary target is in the White Head formation, which holds potential for oil and gas in fractured intervals at a depth of approximately 2.6 km.

"The Gaspe Peninsula and particularly the Ristigouche-Matapedia area present several favorable indicators, notably in the Silurian formation where reef facies may be encountered" said Raymond Savoie, chairman and CEO of Gastem. "Recent wells in the Gaspe Peninsula have all found traces or small reservoirs of good light oil and one may correctly state that, given better science and technology, the first substantial discovery is not far down the road."