D3 Energy (ASX:D3E) has detected gas in both Nooitgedacht wells in South Africa, but the timing of further testing remains uncertain because of low reservoir pressure.
The company has completed geophysical logging and installed and cemented production casing in wells NGT245E and NGT245D within its wholly owned ER315 permit in Free State province.
Gas flowed to surface at NGT245E during drilling, while gas was subsequently detected in NGT245D before cementing. The update does not report flow rates or helium and methane concentrations for either well.
Both wells target faults and associated fractures in the Ventersdorp and Witwatersrand formations. The company notes testing is intended to assess the reservoir’s ability to deliver gas and provide further information on its composition.
D3 says reservoir pressure must normalise following drilling and completion operations before testing can proceed. The company has not established how long this will take.
CEO David Casey says encountering gas was unexpected given the low reservoir pressure relative to the pressures used during drilling.
“Notwithstanding this, and unlike our wells to the south, it will take some time before the impact of drilling and completion operations on the reservoir dissipates and further testing can be undertaken,” Casey says.
Casing and cementing were completed following a brief weather-related delay.
Elsewhere within ER315, D3 has reported independently verified helium concentrations of up to 8%. That figure is not a reported result from the two Nooitgedacht wells.
The permit is subject to production right application PR016, currently under assessment by Petroleum Agency SA. The initial application area covers 15% of ER315.
D3’s broader exploration portfolio includes the adjoining ER386 exploration right application along the Virginia Fault corridor.
D3 Energy is an Australian-listed helium and natural gas explorer focused on South Africa’s Free State Province, with additional helium and hydrogen permits in Australia’s Arckaringa Basin.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: D3 Energy
