Gold Hydrogen Ltd (ASX:GHY) has confirmed the presence of free-flowing hydrogen during drilling at Ramsay 1 well, an important step in achieving the objective of producing natural hydrogen at the Ramsay Project on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula.
After starting on the first natural hydrogen exploration well to be drilled in Australia on October 11, 2023, the surface section was successfully drilled and cased off on Saturday, October 14 at 220 metres.
On October 15, further drilling was started to test the identified target zones below 220 metres and while in the Parara Formation, this encountered a system of permeable faults and natural fractures.
Encouraging findings
GHY said the geological findings were promising as these faults and fractures may represent possible pathways to allow for hydrogen to migrate from the source.
This is important technical confirmation of the geological setting at Ramsay.
The company is encouraged that hydrogen was detected at elevated levels above background levels and confirmed by onsite mud gas samples and subsequent offsite laboratory mud-logging analysis provided by SLB.
These samples were collected on surface and contained an expected high level of air contamination.
Further testing and analysis of the samples were conducted in the offsite laboratory and the air-corrected composition and values of hydrogen were found to be analogous with offset data.
Further sampling required
These are preliminary results that require further uncontaminated down hole samples to be taken and tested, to confirm the exact composition of gas and purity of hydrogen in the formation.
Until these samples can be obtained, GHY said the exact purity of hydrogen would not be known.
Although the objectives of the well have been achieved in detecting natural hydrogen in the Parra Formation, the company will now attempt to collect uncontaminated downhole samples.
Encountering the natural fractures has led to some delays and slower than anticipated drilling times.
On the path
After setting out to test the results of the historic Ramsay Oil Bore drilled in 1931, Gold Hydrogen believes that the early detection of natural hydrogen confirms the existence of natural hydrogen-bearing formations in the subsurface geologic formations within the PEL687 permit area.
By replicating the identification of hydrogen gas encountered during the historic drilling and more broadly confirming geological modelling based on the exploration data obtained during the past year, the company believes it is on the way to achieving its primary objective.