HeLIX Exploration PLC (AIM:HEX, OTCQB:HHEXF) told investors it has secured a drilling rig for the planned re-entry of the Inez #1 well at the Rudyard Project in Montana.
Operations are scheduled to begin next week and will allow further evaluation of Rudyard's subsurface system for natural hydrogen potential.
The company will remove the existing production tubing at Inez-1 and drill to total depth in order to core an additional thirty to forty feet of ultramafic rock.
"Coring the ultramafic interval in the Inez #1 well represents a defining moment for Helix," said chief executive Bo Sears.
"To my knowledge, no better rock has been encountered in the United States for geological hydrogen exploration."
Sears added: "We believe these core samples will be the first ever taken from an ultramafic zone at this depth in the U.S., and they provide a rare opportunity to study a live hydrogen-forming system in place."
The re-entry will also include completion of the well for helium production through perforation of the Souris River zone.
Sears said the combined work advances the company’s aim of unlocking commercial hydrogen and helium from the same subsurface setting. Previous studies confirmed mantle helium signatures and rock chemistry conducive to hydrogen generation.