This is getting reported in the media - always good to get the...

This is getting reported in the media - always good to get the word around that BNL is up and coming.

Blue Star charges into helium future with approval of Voyager development wells - *

Blue Star charges into helium future with approvalof Voyager development wells

Heliumproduction could be on the horizon for Blue Star after it received the greenlight for the drilling of the first two development wells at the high-gradeVoyager project in Colorado.

TheColorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) granted the final approvalfor the BBB 33#1 and BBB 34#1 helium development wells, which offset the BBB#1helium discovery well that had intersected a 134ft (40.8m) gas column andflowed gas containing 8.8% helium to surface.

Blue Star Helium(ASX:BNL) expects to drill the first well either late in the current quarter or early in the third quarter. This will include subsequent flow and pressure testing evaluation.

Inaddition to these wells which will be completed for production, the company isalready putting in place plans to increase its potential production of thevaluable gas with an additional five-well Oil and Gas Development Plan to besubmitted to COGCC in the first week of May.

Thesewells will give Blue Star a robust inventory from which to select its firstthree to four helium production wells at Voyager.

Notably,it comes as COGCC advised that it is implementing a revised permitting processthat is designed to shorten the time between submission and hearing from thecurrent average of seven months to 4.5 months.

Development plans

Commercialdiscussions for the provision of a leased heliumproduction facility are also well advanced with execution of a facilities agreement expected in the coming weeks.

Leasingthe facility enables Blue Star to avoid the requirement for any substantialdebt funding, which would have necessitated the execution of long term offtakecontracts, rather than delivering the ability for immediate sales into thepremium priced spot market.

Itpreviously noted that the plant will have raw gas throughput of 2 million cubicfeet of gas per day for an expected 98%+ purity helium product gas output of 38million cubic feet in its first full capacity year.

Helium isa rare commodity on the ground, which when combined with its role as a critical– and often irreplaceable – component in the semiconductor, medical, research,space and defence industries, makes for some serious sticker shock.

US spot marketprices hit as high as US$2,000/mcf last year (an increase of around 300% since 2021) and with supply remaining constrained, there is reason to believe that further increases are likely, though at a considerably more restrained level.

Voyagerhas a best estimateContingent Resource of 643 million standard cubic feet of helium, at least a portion of which could be converted into reserves following successful drilling and testing of the development wells.

Thecompany says it remains on track for first helium production in the second halfof this year.