DURBAN - Renergen, the emerging domestic and natural gas and helium producer, said today it expected to begin drilling operations or spud the first inclined well later this month and reach the primary target at the base of the Karoo sequence / top Wits formation late in August.
It is the company’s first inclined well project in the Virginia Gas Project and the company said it was taking all steps to maximise the probability of success.
“As has been previously explained, the faults and fissures in the target area are mostly sub-vertical and drilling inclined wells will maximise the probability of intersecting these faults and fissures as targeted at or below the base of Karoo / top Wits interface; the drilling challenge is to maintain the wellbore inclination to achieve this outcome,” the group said.
Chief executive Stefano Marani said the group was currently focused “on a successful well over a fast well.”
He said if the company got the first well right, it expected to have an easy to read roadmap for future drilling at Virginia and can get to work on quickly ramping up towards production.
“As management we are confident of the methane and helium, but utilising the available technology to access it in the most cost-effective manner possible is our key motivation at present,” Marani said.
The group announced in May that Bohrmeister Technik had been awarded the drilling contract, and that mobilisation would take place within six weeks.
The group said the preparation of the drill pad, delivery of equipment, and the applications to secure all regulatory approvals, are all progressing, although more slowly than would be the case were it not for restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“On current projections the first well is expected to spud late in July and reach the primary target at the base of the Karoo sequence / top Wits formation late in August,” the group said.
The group’s share price was up by 2.34 percent today to R14.84 a share in intraday trade.