Georgina Energy, a helium, hydrogen and natural gas exploration and development company with strategic permits in Australia, confirms that civil engineering contractors are currently completing the pre-drill site works, including water well drilling and conductor pipe drilling required for the planned Q3 Hussar drilling program. These works, including site and camp preparation, represent a key step towards mobilisation of the contracted Ensign 970 drill rig to enable the testing of this exciting prospect, which has 300 km² of areal closure and is one of the largest subsalt helium, hydrogen and hydrocarbons prospects onshore Australia.
Highlights
- September spud date for the Hussar well in Q3 2026 remains on target.
- Water well drilling has commenced to provide the rig water supply. This will be used for drilling fluid makeup water with a proportion being purified with Reverse Osmosis treatment for ablutions and cooking.
- Following completion of the water well, the rig will move closer to the centre of the drilling pad to drill and set the 20 inch conductor pipe.
- The civil engineers have advanced site works including the Turkey's Nest (a water storage pond) and the sump to contain drill cuttings and any excess drilling fluid.
- The cellar, where the conductor pipe and well head will be set, will soon be dug ahead of conductor pipe drilling and cementing.
Water well drilling rig operating on site
Water well drilling in progress
Aerial view of the water well drill rig drilling on site
With 300 km² of areal closure, the Hussar prospect ranks among the largest subsalt helium, hydrogen and hydrocarbon prospects onshore Australia that remains untested.
The Hussar EP513 prospect re-entry in Exploration Permit 513 in the Officer Basin in Western Australia is primarily targeting subsalt reservoir formations, including the Townsend Formation and fractured Neoproterozoic basement lithologies, for helium, hydrogen and natural gas and is planned to drill to a Total Depth of approximately 3,200m which may be extended depending on gas occurrences and reservoir quality. Globally, fractured basement reservoirs similar to that targeted in the Hussar Prospect, have proven to be prolific producers. The Bach Ho field in fractured basement offshore Vietnam for example, at its peak produced 1.6 BCFGE (billion cubic feet of gas equivalent) per day and has been in continuous production for over 40 years. (https://www.saltworkconsultants.com/downloads/Bach_Ho_Cuong_Warren_09.pdf)
A secondary target is the hydrocarbon gas potential in the Kanpa and Hussar formations overlying the primary subsalt targets. These formations have not been adequately tested to date but have shown excellent porosities and hydrocarbon shows during previous drilling.
The Hussar prospect has an Independent Geological Report dated 1st February 2026 by Competent Person Mr Maki Petkovski certifying unrisked SPE PRMS (the Society of Petroleum Engineers and Petroleum Resource Management Systems) net attributable 2U Prospective Resources of 283 BCF helium, 315 BCF hydrogen and 2.93 TCF of hydrocarbon gas.
Based on the pricing of Helium US$450/MCFG and Hydrogen US$2.65/kg and US$8/MCF for hydrocarbon gas, these volumes would equate to a total potential combined net attributable unrisked potential in-situ value of c.US$152 billion. These are estimates in-situ values from the AER (Australian Energy Regulator) and HNT (Helium Price Index) developed by the Company based on unrisked prospective resources; they exclude production, separation and transport-to-market costs, and there is no certainty that any part of these resources will be commercially recovered.
Further updates will follow as we progress towards the September spud date along with additional site photos which can be viewed by shareholders on the Georgina website.
Anthony Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer of Georgina Energy, commented:
'The progress being made on site is an important step mobilisation of the Ensign 970 drill rig and we remain on track for the planned September spud date of this exciting prospect . Hussar is a significant subsalt helium, hydrogen and hydrocarbon prospect, and we look forward to providing further updates as preparations advance.'
Source: Georgina Energy
