Rig mobilised to spud ADX Energy’s big Welchau gas prospect

ADX mobilising replacement rig to spud Welchau-1 gas well
Welchau-1 targets up to 807Bcfe of natural gas
Drilling expected to start by 24 February with operations to take 39 days in the success case

Special Report: Drilling of ADX Energy’s potentially transformational Welchau-1 gas well in Austria is imminent with the replacement RED Drilling & Services E200 drill rig now mobilising to the Vienna Basin.

Welchau has a best technical prospective resource of 807 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe) of gas in the middle of gas-hungry Europe and easy access to gas pipelines.

Further enhancing its attractiveness for ADX Energy (ASX:ADX), the prospect sits within the same shallow reservoirs as the nearby Moln-1 gas discovery that intersected a gas column of at least 400m in 1989 and flowed 4 million cubic feet of gas per day during testing.

Half the drill costs – to a cap of €5.1 milion – will be funded by partner MCF Energy in return for a 25% interest in the Welchau Investment Area, reducing the company’s drill risk.

Rig mobilising to well site

Drill contractor RED Drilling & Services has now mobilised its E200 rig to replace the E202 rig, which was experiencing operational difficulties that would have excessively delayed Welchau drilling.

The E200 replacement rig has equivalent capability and has been pre-approved for drilling operations at Welchau.

Mobilisation is expected to take about six days to complete with drilling scheduled to begin by 24 February 2024.

“The board of ADX is very pleased that drilling rig mobilisation to Welchau has commenced and drilling operations can start within the week,” ADX executive chairman Ian Tchacos said.

“Our Austrian team has made it possible to drill and evaluate the Welchau well during the winter period by securing the E200 sister rig at very short notice from Vienna Basin operator OMV AG.

“We can now focus on the drilling of this potentially significant gas resource for the benefit of the Republic of Austria, our partner MCF and ADX shareholders.”

Drilling is expected to take about 39 days in the success case.

This article was developed in collaboration with ADX Energy, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.