D3 Energy Ltd (ASX:D3E, OTCQX:DNRGF) is set to resume drilling operations at its Nooitgedacht helium and natural gas project in South Africa after wet weather temporarily halted work last week.
The drilling crew is scheduled to remobilise today, with the company saying the brief interruption has not changed the forward program and operations remain on budget. Both NGT245 E and NGT245 D have already reached total depth.
Production testing next step
Once operations restart, D3 Energy plans to run and cement production casing in both wells before drilling out the cement plugs and cleaning up the wellbores.
Production testing at NGT245 E is expected to begin in the coming weeks, subject to completion of these activities. The testing program will include flow testing and gas sample compositional analysis, with results to be released to the market.
Gas was previously observed flowing to surface at NGT245 E during drilling, ahead of formal production testing.
Both wells are targeting faulting and associated fractures in the Ventersdorp and Witwatersrand formations, with the program designed to assess reservoir deliverability and gather further information on helium and methane concentrations.
Nooitgedacht project
Nooitgedacht sits within D3 Energy’s 100%-owned ER315 permit in South Africa’s Free State Province.
The wider ER315 asset has previously returned independently verified helium concentrations of up to 8% and is subject to Production Right Application PR016, which is under assessment by South Africa’s Petroleum Agency SA.
D3 Energy holds a 479,409-acre land position across the Free State, including ER315, PR016, several exploration right applications and Technical Cooperation Permit TCP273.
The location map on page 2 of the company’s release shows Nooitgedacht in the northern portion of ER315, while the well map on page 3 places NGT245 E and NGT245 D around the Nooitgedacht Major structure.
Next steps
Following remobilisation, the company will:
- run and cement production casing at NGT245 E and NGT245 D;
- drill out cement plugs and clean up the wellbores;
- begin production testing at NGT245 E; and
- undertake flow testing and gas compositional analysis.
Results from the testing program will be reported as they become available.