Helium One Global Ltd has begun drilling the Itumbula West-1 well, targeting two major fault zones and the Karoo Group, on the Rukwa licence in Tanzania.
EVALUATION
Having installed the new iron rough neck and completed hydraulic repairs, the company is currently cementing the 20″ conductor before drilling the 17.5″ hole section.
An open hole well test will be performed in the fault zones and Karoo targets, in anticipation of both yielding helium, in addition to conventional mudlogging and wireline procedures.
Once the wireline logs are run and evaluated, the company has the option of taking down-hole samples under reservoir conditions for on-site evaluation and laboratory analysis.
The process from spud to completion of logs and well testing is expected to take four to five weeks.
BALANGIDA
Helium One added that the Tanzanian Government had now ratified the part-relinquishment of PL10704/2015 in the Balangida Rift basin, following an internal licence review completed earlier last year
The 125km2 area chosen for relinquishment had no, or poorly, defined exploration leads and was on an outcropping basement meaning without sediment fill and therefore considered non-prospective.
The area retained is a prospective area supported by gravity-magnetic data, known surface helium seeps, multispectral satellite spectroscopy data and soil gas surveys.
Helium One now holds a 134km2 prospecting footprint in the Balangida Rift basin, while all other licences remain unchanged, giving an overall total of 2,840km2.