Blue Star Helium advances Galactica project with strong gas flow at Jackson 27 development well

Blue Star Helium (ASX: BNL) has had further drilling success in Colorado, hitting a wide zone of gas in the Jackson 27 development well at its Galactica helium project.

Blue Star successfully drilled Jackson 27, the fourth in a string of new development wells at the Colorado project, to its final total depth of approximately 360 metres and the well has since flowed gas at a sustained rate.

The company is advancing the Galactica project in joint venture with Helium One Global, which will fund the first US$450,000 of this well under a farm-in agreement.

Strong flow exhibited

“The Jackson 27 well has exhibited strong flow since reaching total depth, highlighting the significant production potential of the Lyons Sandstone,” chief executive officer Trent Spry said.

“This well targeted the highest quality sandstone at the top of the upper Lyons Formation, which is well connected to the entire gas column.”

“Based on offset wells, we expect the entire upper Lyons to be gas-saturated, as well as a significant portion of the lower Lyons sand.”

Initial flow testing

The well exhibited strong natural flow during drilling and at total depth after encountering the targeted Lyons Formation at a depth of around 342m.

Blue Star completed it deliberately at 18.6m in the upper sand of the Lyons Formation and wireline logging has confirmed that the drilling encountered no water in the Lyons Formation.

“This ongoing success reinforces the robustness of our Galactica project and represents a substantial advance toward commercial production,” Mr Spry said.

Wellhead installation

Blue Star is awaiting results from tests of gas samples sent to a laboratory for analysis of helium and carbon dioxide concentrations.

In the meantime, the company is installing a wellhead in preparation for surface pressure readings and flow testing.

The Galactica/Pegasus project is a large-scale, multi-product development with a range of development pathways under consideration, including an initial leased and third-party operated plant option similar to that deployed at the nearby Voyager project.

Blue Star expects future expansion to include a carbon dioxide by-product stream and the potential for 99.999% gaseous helium production in-field.