Spent some time over the weekend reading back through ancient EXR posts- some great commentary in the early days.
For those who may be a wee bit miffed with “lack” of speed and how long everything is seeming to take with Nomgon, here’s a sobering reminder below of what it’s taken just to get to this point of our existence.
(Of course, things could have progressed faster if we weren’t absolute industry pioneers and there was a data laden geo playbook we could reference and we had more capable initial drill rigs and crew, there wasn’t a global pandemic with all associated lockdowns, delays + supply chain issues and good ol Russia having a brain freeze etc etc)
We sit here, twiddling our thumbs, eagerly scanning ASX announcements each morning pre-open, salivating as the prospect of that hopeful “Nomgon Commercial Gas” headline…. the real catalyst for a potential significant re-rate and an enabler for more good things to come, in time.
We think we have it tough….all this waiting, watching the clock tick….just imagine what Neil feels…..given Golden Horde 1st identified potential CBM in Mongolia way back in 2011!-….12 years ago!!!!
12 looooong years to get to what surely must only be maybe circa 6 weeks away from a potential company making event (but not guaranteed).
So just to recap what has needed to happen to get to this point….and just how long things take in pioneering exploration (and the de-watering process!) , I’ve whacked this together.
Timeline on Nomgon IX PSC & and specifically Nomgon holes as best I can summarise (*might have missed something)- extracted from ASX announcements:
November 2017- EXR Shareholders approve acquisition of Golden Horde Limited (GOH) subject to GOH being granted PSC in Mongolia.
September 2018- Finally (after a few delays and false starts)- GOH awarded Nomgon IX CBM PSC- the FIRST unconventional PSC issued in Mongolia, pursuant to the updated “Petroleum Law” of 2014.
November 2018- ERCE independently evaluates Risked Recoverable Prospective Resource, Best Case (2U) at 7.6 TCF for Nomgon IX CBM PSC (with 20% of the PSC area considered prospective for gas in place in best estimate case).
December 2018- GOH acquired for 79mill EXR shares (not all to Neil I assume)- + Neil appointed CEO, +17.5mill Performance related share rights (80% of GOH shareholders voluntarily escrow their shares for 12 months)
16th January 2020-(3 YEARS AGO!)- Nomgon-1 spuds (following the disappointing Ugtaal-1 low end gas content results).
5th February 2020 -(3 YEARS AGO yesterday!!) – Nomgon-1 intersects 82 metres net coal , thickest seam at 51 metres- “abundant gas bubbling from the recovered core”!- remember that video??!!!- awesome!!
26th February 2020- COAL SEAM GAS DISCOVERY AT NOMGON-1- FIRST CBM discovery in Mongolia! - Average gas content (raw) of >5m3 /t measured in very thick coal seam.
8th July 2020- FULLY GAS SATURATED COALS- “Nomgon-1’s very thick coals that have now been identified as being fully gas saturated suggest a potentially very energy intensive per acre resource has been found.”
26th June 2020- Nomgon-1 core-hole average dry ash free (“DAF”) gas content measured in the main “100 series” coal seam was 8.9m3 /tonne.
10th July 2020- Nomgon-2 appraisal core-hole spudded previous night.
15th July 2020- Nomgon-2 on schedule and already intersecting coals.
29th July 2020 – Nomgon-2 called at 550 metres, 91 metres of net coal, including 51 metres in main “100 series” seam
20th August 2020- Nomgon-2 main seam’s gas content averages > 5m3/tonne (on a raw basis) • Permeability at Nomgon-2 significantly higher than Nomgon-1 • Nomgon-S3 strat-hole meets key objective, measuring ~78 metres of coal • Nomgon-S4 strat-hole to spud shortly
1st September 2020 – Nomgon-3S appraisal strat-hole final wireline logs 88 metres of coal (increase from 20th Aug announcement) and the step out Nomgon-4S strat-hole extends resource area and logs coals of 35 metres.
17th September 2020- Nomgon-5S strat hole spudded previous evening.
23rd October 2020- Nomgon-5S issues, to be re-drilled to immediate north. Nomgon-2 core hole DAF in main seam avg 8.6m3/tonne.
5th November 2020- Nomgon 5S- re-drill appraisal strat-hole sees 450metres, total of 47m of net coal intersected. “The strong net coal outcome from the Nomgon 5SRedrill well means we have now drilled five successful wells in the Nomgon sub-basin in a row. This
well was a 7.3 km step-out from the original Nomgon 1 discovery. Data from all the Nomgon wells will now be progressively analysed and integrated, leading firstly to updated prospective resource numbers followed by our maiden contingent resource booking.”
3rd December 2020- Adsorption results from Nomgon-2 indicate fully gas saturated coals.
7th April 2021-First in Mongolia- 2C Contingent Resource booked (for 13km/2 of Nomgon of 60 Bcf GIIP and 24 Bcf Recoverable Gas- + MOU w/ Ministry of Energy for potential Clarke Gas fired Power Station
20th July 2021 - Nomgon Central-1 appraisal well due to spud in the next week- s objectives, in addition to taking cores and measuring permeability, will be to confirm a location for production test wells.
25th August 2021- Nomgon Central-1, is currently drilling ahead. This core-hole will measure key CBM characteristics including coal thickness, gas content, permeability, gas composition and gas saturation levels in the central part of the Nomgon CBM Discovery.
17th September 2021- Nomgon Central-1 core-hole has reached a total depth of 559 metres and logged 65 metres of coal. The next Nomgon sub-basin appraisal well – Nomgon 6 – will spud later this week
27th October 2021- Gas & water flowed to surface from Nomgon-6 well. Nomgon 6 well was drilled to a total depth of 501 metres and intersected 84 metres of coal, of which 63 metres was in the primary objective “100 series” coal.
9th December 2021- Approvals formally lodged for 2022 long term pilot production project • Gas fired generation project being progressed in parallel. Nomgon-7S spudded- will serve as one of the monitoring wells for pilot project.
4th January 2022- Nomgon-7S well has been successfully drilled and suspended as a pressure monitoring well for next year’s production pilot in the Nomgon sub-basin.
22nd June 2022- s extended pilot production program is advancing in parallel to the exploration and appraisal drilling. Experienced Mongolian contractor Monbag LLC has been hired to construct the civil works and this will commence shortly. Spudding of the first of the two production wells by Major Drilling is expected by around end of August 2022.
26th July 2022- We are on track to spud the two production wells that underpin the pilot in August. Thereafter we will install pumps and produce water – then gas – over a period of some months in order to establish a production curve. We have procured the equipment required for this project from various countries, including Australia, India and China. Delivering this to Mongolia, given the COVID related issues affecting global supply chains in general and Chinese border controls in particular, has required considerable planning. We are pleased to note that the project is still on track for pumping to start once the wells are drilled.
12th September 2022- Nomgon-8 pilot well spudded 10th Sept with Nomgon-9 to follow.
28th September 2022- (* wrong order of Nom 8 & 9 ??) - The first well in the Company’s extended pilot production program (Nomgon-9) has recently been successfully drilled and completed. The well was drilled to a total depth of 488 metres in 11 days w/ 55m coal logged over “100 series” seams. The rig is now moving to the location for the second and final pilot well (Nomgon-8), which is due to spud later this week. Elixir plans to commence pumping fluids from the two pilot wells in around a month.
12th October 2022- Nomgon-8 drilled to 562 metres in 10 days (new record) w/ approx.. 51 metres of coal logged over primary “100 series coal”.
18th November 2022- Pumping commenced earlier this week at the Nomgon pilot project • Gas breakthrough already occurring – now being flared. The early breakthrough of gas is consistent with our interpretation that the coal is close to 100% gas saturated. At this stage, one of the two wells is exhibiting slugging and may require workover in the coming days. “Flaring gas so soon after starting our production pilot is an incredible result for the Company. This is a first for Mongolia and we aim to establish a commercial flow rate in the months to come.”
20th December 2022- Nomgon-9 well has seen growing (but currently unstabilised) water and gas rates, delivered through a variable choke. The produced water rates (which were low in the first place due to the high gas saturated nature of the coals) are decreasing and the casing (gas) pressure is steadily increasing. Nomgon-8 well has just had a down-hole pump repaired and fluid from this well is now starting to be added to flows from Nomgon-9. Gas samples from the flow tests have measured 99% methane content. The salt content of produced water at 4,190ppm is fresher than previously measured. Both factors support materially lower costs and environmental impacts in a development stage. Production from the pilot will continue into the New Year and the Company’s plan to determine if a commercial flow rate can be established is on track.
22nd December 2022- We were therefore naturally very pleased to recently announce that gas had flowed in sufficient quantities to ignite a flare – a first for Mongolia’s petroleum industry. Elixir’s aim is to demonstrate a commercial flow-rate from the pilot early in the New Year. That would represent a major milestone in our journey from the initial conceptualization of the CBM opportunity in Mongolia to the booking of reserves. We would expect the international oil and gas industry to take note accordingly.
31st January 2023- The project continues to produce gas – at a growing rate - and we look forward to reporting the final stabilized outcome in the months to come. As noted above, our foundation asset – the Nomgon CBM PSC – will reach a major milestone in the coming months – the hoped for (but not guaranteed) establishment of a commercial flow rate from the Nomgon pilot. The outcome of the pilot will frame our activities for the balance of the year. Production testing commenced in November and gas breakthrough commenced within a week. Typical for a pilot, a few teething issues arose, requiring various repairs. Gas production continues as at the date of this report and is building volumetrically.
(20min delay)