Helium One Global (AIM: HE1), the primary helium explorer in Tanzania, is pleased to announce that drilling on the Tai-3 well has successfully recommenced.
Highlights
· Replacement rig component sourced and installed
· Drilling activities have successfully restarted on Tai-3
· Plan to drill ahead through primary reservoir targets to total depth of 1,100m measured depth (“MD”)
· Itumbula-C civils work and well pad preparation on track
· Recent soil gas survey over Itumbula prospect yields helium concentrations above background levels
On Friday 13th October, the Company successfully installed the replacement part required to resolve the component failure in the main rig carrier that occurred on 4th October. With the assistance of the rig mechanic and engineers from Epiroc, the rig manufacturer, the rig then underwent testing prior to restarting operations. As of 16:00 hrs EAT (14:00 hrs BST) on Sunday 14th October, the Predator 220 drilling rig recommenced drilling.
Prior to the component failure the Company had drilled to just below the 13 3/8″ casing shoe, which was on track with our expected drilling timetable. The Company will now continue to drill ahead to the planned total depth (“TD”) of 1,100m MD through the primary reservoir targets in the Lake Bed Formation, Karoo Group and Basement. The Company expects to make a further announcement once TD is reached.
All third-party services have remained onsite and were ready to immediately resume operational activities and minimise any further delays. The wireline tools have also been fully tested and are ready to run in the hole once the TD has been reached.
Civils work is continuing for the second well in this drilling campaign on the Itumbula-C well pad and access road. The Company remains on track to drill this well prior to the wet season commencing. Recent soil gas surveys over the Itumbula prospect have yielded helium concentrations above background levels which correlate well to the surface helium anomalies identified from the 2022 multispectral satellite spectroscopy seep study.
The Company has also successfully carried out an emergency medical evacuation (“medevac”) drill from the Tai-3 wellsite, using a helicopter fully equipped for medevac purposes and our onsite medical team who specialise in trauma care. On site, the Company has 24hr medical cover with a doctor, paramedic, a fully equipped ambulance, ambulance driver and a specialist clinic. A purpose-built helipad at the Tai-3 wellsite enables a quick medevac solution in the event of a medical emergency.
Lorna Blaisse, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“As a Company, we remain resilient and continue to proactively address any hurdles we encounter. The wider Helium One team, both at the rig site and elsewhere, have pushed exceptionally hard over the past week to troubleshoot the issue, source a replacement part from the USA, reinstall and repair the rig and I am pleased that we are now back on track in an extremely short period of time.
“We very much look forward to drilling ahead into our target reservoirs at Tai-3 over the coming days and to evaluate the well, prior to rigging down and moving the rig to our next location at Itumbula.”
For further information please visit the Company’s website: www.helium-one.com
