Roxi Petroleum, the Central Asian oil and gas company with a focus on Kazakhstan, has begun drilling on its NK-9 well. The plan is to drill to a total depth of 1,500 metres to assess the discovery in the south channel of the Galaz block. Drilling operations are being coordinated by the firm's operating partners LGI and are expected to take around one month. It is the first of three wells expected to be drilled across the group's assets before the end of the year and marks the start of the next phase of operational activity for the company. Chief executive officer David Wilkes said: "I am delighted that after many months of preparation and dealing with the company's finances we are able to commence drilling on what we believe to be a promising asset. We await with interest the results of the drilling."The share price rose 8.7% to 3.12p by 08:23.NR