Helix Exploration PLC (AIM:HEX; OTCQB:HEXFF) has spudded the Ollie #1 well at the Rudyard field in Montana, the company announced. The well is located approximately one mile north of the Weil #1 well in the Northern Dome area.
Drilling is expected to take roughly 21 days. Following spud, the well will undergo wireline logging, extended flow testing and gas analysis. Subject to results, Helix plans to connect Ollie #1 to the existing gathering system at Weil #1 and the PSA plant within current membrane capacity.
Ollie #1 would be the fourth production well at the Northern Dome. Helix currently operates three producing wells at Rudyard — Darwin #1, Linda #1 and Weil #1 — which are tied into the gathering system and provide throughput to the PSA plant.
Bo Sears, chief executive officer, said the well represents "the next stage of the Company's drilling campaign at the Rudyard field to increase production." He added that the drilling would proceed in parallel with the planned purchase and installation of a new membrane, which Helix expects to increase available throughput capacity at the facility.
The company acquired its own drilling rig earlier this year, enabling it to carry out the campaign. After Ollie #1 is completed, Helix said it is surveying several additional helium well locations as candidates for subsequent wells as part of its production expansion program.
Helix operates in the Souris River and Red River formations at Rudyard, with an estimated total depth target of approximately 5,500 feet for Ollie #1.
