D3 Energy Confirms Gas Zones at Nooitgedacht With Remedial Works to Unlock Flow

Drilling confirms gas at Nooitgedacht — remedial works planned to restore flow

D3 Energy (ASX: D3E) has confirmed gas-bearing zones in both the NGT245 D and NGT245 E wells at its Nooitgedacht project, within the 100%-owned ER315 permit in South Africa’s Free State Province. Geophysical logging analysis identified a deeper water production zone in both wells, with water rising above the gas-bearing zones and, due to extremely low reservoir pressure, inhibiting gas flow.

Remedial cementing activities are now being planned to isolate the deeper water zones and restore gas flow to levels observed during drilling. Works are expected to commence the following week on both wells. The Nooitgedacht project represents the company’s first drilling operation at this location, which sits approximately 40km from D3 Energy’s Production Right application area.

What the logging revealed

Prior to water levels rising and inhibiting flow, latest-technology downhole camera logging was able to identify the gas zones. Camera footage confirmed gas bubbling through the water column in NGT245 E — visual evidence that gas-bearing zones are present even as water has temporarily suppressed their output.

Both wells are targeting faulting and associated fractures in the Ventersdorp and Witwatersrand formations to assess reservoir deliverability and collect data on helium and methane concentrations. Key technical findings from the logging analysis include:

• Deeper water production zone identified in both NGT245 D and NGT245 E
• Water level now above the gas-producing zones in both wells
• Extremely low reservoir pressure identified as a contributing factor to inhibited flow
• Gas bubbling confirmed via downhole camera logging prior to water rising

David Casey, Managing Director and CEO, D3 Energy

“Notwithstanding that gas was encountered during drilling, unsurprisingly given the extremely low reservoir pressure here, gas flow subsided during completion operations. Encouragingly, however, logging has confirmed that this is in large part due to water rising from a zone below to above the gas bearing zone. Downhole camera vision clearly confirms this with gas seen bubbling through the water column. While it is anticipated that remedial work should resolve this, it is nonetheless incredibly encouraging that both wells intersected gas bearing zones in what is our first drilling operation at Nooitgedacht, which is located some 40km from our Production Right application area.”

What is remedial cementing and why does it matter?

Remedial cementing is a standard oil and gas industry technique used to isolate unwanted fluid zones within a wellbore from the zones that are intended to produce. In this case, the goal is to seal off the deeper water production zone so that water can no longer migrate upward into the gas-bearing intervals.

Water incursion into gas wells is a recognised challenge, particularly in low-pressure reservoirs where there is insufficient natural energy to push water back down and maintain gas flow to surface. When reservoir pressure is extremely low, even modest water ingress can overwhelm the gas column and effectively shut in production.

For D3 Energy, a successful cementing operation would confirm that the NGT245 D and NGT245 E wells are capable of producing gas at the rates observed during drilling. The technique addresses a well-construction issue rather than a geological one, which is why the confirmed presence of gas-bearing zones in both wells is the more material finding from this update.

Broader asset context and what comes next

D3 Energy holds a 479,409-acre land position across South Africa’s Free State Province, comprising ER315, PR016, Exploration Right Applications ER386, ER391, ER392 and ER393, and Technical Cooperation Permit TCP273. The company’s flagship ER315 permit has delivered independently verified helium concentrations of up to 8% and is the subject of a Production Right Application (PR016) currently under assessment by South Africa’s Petroleum Agency SA (PASA).

The initial Production Right Application area covers 15% of ER315 and approximately 9% of D3’s total exploration right acreage. ER386 is contiguous with ER315 and sits within the same Virginia Fault structural corridor that hosts D3’s certified reserves and contingent resources. The Nooitgedacht result adds a new data point to the broader appraisal picture, with the project located approximately 40km from the Production Right application area.

D3 Energy recently certified a maiden helium resource at ER386, the permit contiguous with ER315 that sits within the same Virginia Fault structural corridor underpinning the company’s certified reserves and contingent resources.

Key milestones from this point forward include:

1. Remedial cementing to commence on NGT245 D and NGT245 E — expected the week following the 9 September 2026 announcement
2. Restoration of gas flow to drilling-phase levels anticipated following cementing operations
3. Ongoing assessment of helium and methane concentrations across both wells
4. PR016 Production Right Application remains under PASA assessment

The Nooitgedacht drilling result, while requiring remedial follow-up, adds technical validation to D3 Energy’s broader Free State exploration programme across what is anticipated to be a meaningful appraisal and development pipeline.

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