HyTerra, the first company with a focus on white hydrogen to list on the ASX, has received the green light to undertake a drilling program at the company’s flagship Nemaha project in the USA.

The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary HYT Operating has received a drilling permit from the Kansas Corporation Commission to test the Sue-Duroche-3 well for hydrogen and helium at Nemaha.

The company will drill into a target approximately 200m north of the historic Sue-Duroche-2 well, which reported up to 92% hydrogen and up to 3% helium in analysis performed in 2009.

Extensive portfolio

Executive director Avon McIntyre said HyTerra’s 3,450 acres of leaseholdings are geologically contiguous to the well and that the Sue-Duroche-3 prospect is part of an extensive portfolio of drilling candidates currently being advanced through the permitting stage within its acreage.

“The diversity of geological plays within our wholly-owned leases allows us to rank several independent hydrogen and helium prospects for the company’s upcoming exploration program,” he said.

“That means we can drill the highest-ranked ones first.”

“Additionally, after an extensive review, we are assessing multiple vendors for drilling and other operational services for the Q3 2024 drilling program.”

Local interest

White, or natural, hydrogen is hydrogen formed by natural processes, is non-polluting and may offer lower costs than industrial hydrogen.

It has been identified in many source rocks in areas beyond the sedimentary basins where oil companies typically operate.

HyTerra has identified a significant number of potential local offtake buyers for any commercial hydrogen and helium finds.

A major local market is also in place with more than 35% of ammonia – a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen primarily used to make fertiliser – produced nearby to its wholly-owned leases in Kansas.

That potential market is connected locally and regionally by existing railways and roads.

Nemaha growth

HyTerra increased the size of its Nemaha project in May from 9,607 to 12,720 acres with the acquisition of additional exploration leases in Wabaunsee County within an area geologically contiguous with the Sue-Duroche-2 well.

The new leases are covered by existing seismic data along with an airborne geophysical survey acquired by HyTerra in 2023.

HyTerra’s datasets link the new leases with the existing leases near the Sue Duroche-2 well and provide promising subsurface definition of the geology and the prospectivity of white hydrogen and helium.