Evening all,
Here is a fun fact: It has been 597 days since the company-making LD-1 drill was spudded... back on July 19th 2021. And... it has been 546 days since one of the all time greatest announcements I have ever read was released to the market... "SIGNIFICANT GAS DISCOVERY AT LOCKYER DEEP-1".... 8th September 2021.
I actually still remember that day...my morning coffee never tasted so good... it was transformational for NWE, as much as it was transformational for me. Yet it has felt like forever waiting for this follow-up 4-well appraisal program to kick-off... waiting to contract the rig, waiting for govt approvals... waiting, waiting, waiting... and then when it was all ready to go, we get MIN try an opportunistic TO... just as the party was about to start... Pissed me off big time TBH.
Now, I get not everyone on this NWE forum was around for the rollercoaster ride of the LD-1 drill. It has been fantastic to see so many new posters/holders, really enjoyed seeing the passion and research coming through. But some of of us have been on the NWE train for many, many years (since 2010 for me) and quite a few have been through many, many O&G drills, both onshore and offshore. It can be a thrilling and a stressful experience - so buckle up for the ride, it promises to be a good one!
For some of the newer holders here, just thought to explain a few things... we have the LD-2 drill estimated to be a 35 day drill, to a planned total depth (TD) of 4,451m TVDSS. As a comparison, LD-1 was pre-drill estimated to take 35 days, to reach a TD of 4,185 metres (TVDSS). It actually ended up terminating at 4,271m and in actual fact it was a fast drill, coming in under 30 "operational" days (some may recall the delays we had with BOP issues and covid restrictions, which blew out the drill by ~20 days). Nevertheless we got there in the end (no one is allowed to talk about the post drill cementing job!)
So, back to LD-2, we are likely to be spudding latest next Wed 15th March... and if Ensign just so happen to drill as quickly as they recently have been... we could potentially have news of TD by
Fri April 14th. Not far away is it.
I am honestly hoping that Iain and the "MIN subsidiary" NWE board will still give us "minority holders" the regular news flow through-out the drill, like we deserve. From my count, we had 6 operational drill updates for the LD-1 drill before TD. The announcement today certainly didn't have the excitement and glossy pics like we did for LD-1... I hope MIN don't try to stymie the news flow.... put the kybosh on any build up of positivity and excitement... coz it kinda felt like today's announcement was penned my MIN HQ...
Anyway, I say this because some of the newer holders will be excited to read these operational updates with news such as:
- Elevated gas shows were evident at various depths within the Cattamarra Coal Measures, the Eneabba Fm, and the Lesueur Sandstone - none of which are primary or secondary objectives of the drilling program.
- Oil shows encountered within Dongara Sandstone and Wagina Fm.
- Significant gas peaks encountered within Dongara/Wagina Formations
- The top of the Dongara Sandstone coincided with a notable drilling ‘break’, with oil fluorescence observed over a 158 metre (gross) section from the top Dongara Sandstone and into the Wagina Fm
- Significantly elevated gas peaks were evident throughout the Dongara/Wagina section, observed at various depths between 3,107 metres (Kockatea Fm.) and 3,205 metres. A maximum Total Gas reading of 19.6% was recorded from the Wagina Fm. at 3,175 metres.
And the best of the best:
- Preliminary drilling results indicate a significant conventional gas discovery at Lockyer Deep-1
- Gas encountered in excellent quality Kingia Sandstone, and additional gas potential within High Cliff Sandstone
- Apparent absence of gas water contact in Kingia supports the case for a large resource across the greater Lockyer Deep/North Erregulla Deep structure
- Potential conventional oil resource encountered within Dongara/Wagina sandstones
And the cream on top:
- Petrophysical analysis of wireline data confirms exceptional reservoir quality in Kingia Sandstone
- Net gas pay 20.2 metres (TVD) with average porosity 16% and average permeability estimated 500 Millidarcies
- High reservoir pressures indicate an estimated 600-800 metre gas column
- Discovery is expected to exceed Norwest's pre-drill High Case prospective resource
So my point is, there is a lot of info to be gleaned throughout the drill that will indicate if we are onto a winner (or not), and it's not just waiting for TD to be reached with a yes/no outcome. Plus we have the benefit of lots of experienced technical guys / geos on the NWE pages too... all very generous in providing their 2 cents worth.
Lastly, I wanted to mention the updated Top 20 today... IMO it is looking pretty stable now. We saw MIN disclose in their latest bidders statement that they have a relevant interest in 5,014,985,539 Norwest Shares, representing 72.16% of Norwest Shares as of 3rd March. Then we see today MIN holds 5,014,985,539 shares as of 6th March. Can this be true?... MIN have had no increase at all? If so, I don't see MIN getting to 80% anytime soon... and it means we still have 1,934,877,480 shares in the NO camp... or a lazy 27.84%. Not exactly a resounding win for MIN/CE is it.
Looking forward to sharing the LD-2 journey with you all...
Cheers
