Emerging domestic natural gas and helium producer Renergen’s re-drill of the inclined drilling programme (referred to as P2V2) at its flagship Virginia gas project, in the Free State, is expected to be at, or be close to, target by the end of the first week of November.
In a statement on October 21, the JSE- and ASX-listed company confirmed that the re-drill had completed setting of the intermediate casing and that it was on track to drill through to the base of the Karoo and the targeted gas-bearing fault structures.
The first well in the programme had to be abandoned owing to the loss of equipment downhole.
A second drilling rig has been mobilized and is expected to mobilise to site on October 26 and start operations on October 30. This second rig has a directional capability and will re-enter an old, cased exploration hole close to a known gas-bearing fruit.
In getting the drilling programme back on track, Renergen CEO Stefano Marani says time and costs have both been reduced significantly.
Being within close proximity to the gas-bearing faults means the company not only has the opportunity to bring the additional flow online, but also to obtain important new geological data, he adds.