D3 Energy finds 5.2% helium as South African project gains strategic status

NGT245 E returns gas after water problem

D3 Energy Limited (ASX:D3E) has restored gas flow at its NGT245 E well in South Africa and recorded a 5.2% helium concentration, giving the company its clearest near-term technical result from the Nooitgedacht drilling campaign. The result came after remedial cementing isolated deeper water zones that had risen above the gas-producing intervals and restricted flow in the extremely low-pressure reservoir.

The company drilled NGT245 E to 363 metres and NGT245 D to 348 metres during the September quarter, both on time and on budget and without reported safety incidents. Gas flowed to surface at NGT245 E while drilling, while gas was detected in NGT245 D before cementing. The wells sit about 43 kilometres north of Bloemskraal, where D3 Energy has booked reserves supporting its Production Right Application. The latest outcome builds on the earlier water restriction at Nooitgedacht, which had left restored flow and commercial performance unconfirmed.

Production testing remains the decisive step

The 5.2% helium reading is not yet a production result. D3 Energy said further, more tailored remedial work is expected at NGT245 E before production testing, while the 49.7% methane result from the sample is considered anomalously low and is being retested. Remediation at NGT245 D is also due to resume after a stabilisation period. The company has previously reported a nearby historical borehole flowing at an average 95 thousand standard cubic feet per day with 5.6% helium, but that figure does not establish performance from the new wells.

A high-resolution 2D seismic survey is also under way across Nooitgedacht. D3 Energy says the work is intended to refine the area’s structural interpretation, integrate the drilling results and help target future wells. Its South African project covering ER315 and the PR016 Production Right Application area has meanwhile received Strategic Integrated Project 20f status, which the company says may improve government coordination and raise the project’s profile with potential investors, lenders and strategic partners. The status does not itself establish commercial production or complete the Production Right Application.

Acreage grows while Australian resources remain prospective

During the quarter, Petroleum Agency SA awarded D3 Energy five one-year Technical Cooperation Permits covering about 47,000 acres contiguous with its existing Free State permits. The company plans low-cost desktop geological and geophysical studies before potentially applying for Exploration Rights. The additions take its South African granted and applied-for land position to approximately 469,847 acres, all held at 100%.

In South Australia’s Arckaringa Basin, independent certification of the Hydrohelix and Cootanoorina prospects within PEL121 produced unrisked prospective resources of 54 billion cubic feet of helium, 88 BCF of hydrogen and 226 BCF of methane on a 2U basis. The estimated chance of success was 6-8% for helium, 4-7% for hydrogen and 3-4% for methane. Environmental approvals are being pursued for seismic and drilling activities in 2027/28, while D3 Energy continues to assess a potential joint venture partner for PEL121 and PEL122.

Cash runway puts execution under scrutiny

D3 Energy ended September with A$4.643 million in cash, down from A$6.742 million at the start of the quarter. Net operating cash outflow was A$2.120 million, including A$1.356 million on exploration and evaluation, A$358,000 in staff costs and A$426,000 in administration and corporate costs. At the reported expenditure rate, the Appendix 5B indicates 2.19 quarters of funding, with no financing facilities available.

The quarter contained no oil and gas production or development activity. That leaves the investment case balanced between visible technical and regulatory progress and the need to convert those milestones into tested well performance, a completed permitting pathway and a funding plan that can support the next phase. The immediate evidence will come from NGT245 E’s production test, the retested gas composition and the company’s ability to advance NGT245 D without materially accelerating cash use.