Georgina Energy (GEX) has completed several key civil engineering works ahead of the planned drilling programme at its Hussar prospect in Western Australia.
Contractors have now set the 20-inch conductor pipe, which will be cemented into the 26-inch hole opening. The water well has also been drilled and is producing a consistent flow rate, while preparation of the drilling and camp pads, including gravelling, rolling and compacting, has been completed.
The Hussar airstrip has been extended to support medical evacuation and crew changes and has been fully rolled and compacted. A low spot prone to waterlogging has also been gravelled and compacted.
Work has additionally started on the main access road, with gravel being transported to the site and several low-lying areas prone to flooding being repaired.
Georgina said all remaining pre-drilling site works are expected to be completed shortly.
The Hussar prospect covers 330 sq km of areal closure at 3U level and is one of the largest untested subsalt helium, hydrogen and hydrocarbon prospects onshore Australia.
The planned re-entry of the Hussar EP513 prospect in the Officer Basin is targeting subsalt reservoir formations, including the Townsend Formation and fractured Neoproterozoic basement, for helium, hydrogen and natural gas. The well is planned to reach a total depth of around 3,200 metres, although this could be extended depending on gas occurrences and reservoir quality.
A secondary target is the hydrocarbon potential of the Kanpa and Hussar formations above the primary subsalt targets. The company said these formations have not been adequately tested but demonstrated good porosity and hydrocarbon shows during previous drilling.
Georgina Energy’s Chief Executive Officer Anthony Hamilton said: "Completion of these civil engineering works is crucial to our planned drilling operation; the operation requires a reliable and significant water supply which we now have in place and the setting of the 20” conductor will save a lot of time once the Ensign Rig 970 has arrived on site. This represents another important achievement in the necessary works to expedite mobilisation of the Ensign 970 drill rig to drill test this exciting prospect."
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The latest work removes several practical hurdles ahead of mobilisation of the Ensign 970 rig. With the water supply, pads, airstrip and conductor now in place, attention is increasingly shifting towards getting the rig on site and testing what is a potentially very large helium, hydrogen and gas target.