The Chinese petroleum company,Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau (ZPEB), on Tuesday started drilling the first exploration well in the Gambella basin, west Ethiopia, the management said.

ZPEB project manager Li Jianjun told Xinhua that the drilling will be finalized within three months, adding that oil testing will be conducted in the exploration well.

The manager said the depth of the well was not yet known.

"The result of the testing in the first well is very important to decide whether or not to drill more wells," he said.

ZPEB was contracted by Petronas, a Malaysian petroleum company,which was given the Gambella concession in 2003, to undertake drilling works. Petronas and Ethiopia's Ministry of Mines and Energy signed the petroleum exploration and production sharing agreement that enables the company to explore and develop the oil reserve in the Gambella basin, near the Sudanese border.

The Gambella concession stretches across a 19,600 sq. km of land. The Gambella basin is an extension of the Melut basin, located in south Sudan.

The Melut basin is known for its huge amount of oil reserve. Petronas has been exploring and developing oil fields in Sudan.

In the past two years, ZPEB, hired by Petronas, has been undertaking seismic survey in the Gabmella basin.

Petronas experts analyzed the seismic data collected from Gambella and identified the specific areas where some exploration wells would be drilled. Petronas has allocated 16 million U.S. dollars to cover the expenses of the drilling on the first well.