ADX gears up for multi-well gas push in Upper Austria

ADX Energy is poised to spark a new energy chapter in gas-hungry Europe after the company locked and loaded seven shallow gas drill targets with a combined mean prospective net resource of 29 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas in Upper Austria’s Molasse Basin. The play has been planned as a low-risk, low-cost exploration program.

The total net resource estimate for all targets ranges from 12.1Bcf as a low-ball guesstimate and to 49.4Bcf at the upper end.

The company expects to kick off a multi-well campaign across its fully owned Austrian exploration ADX-AT-I and ADX-AT-II licences as early as the fourth quarter of this year. Permitting, rig contracting, and land access negotiations have begun. Land for two wells is already secured.

ADX has identified seven drill-ready prospects and is actively maturing a further four. Of the seven, five sit within the proven Hall Formation, which is a prolific Miocene-age sandstone reservoir that has already delivered more than 230Bcf of cumulative production across 83 fields in the region.

ADX’s shallow gas initiative was first announced to the market two years ago and has been developed using local know-how combined with the sharp eyes of world-class stratigraphic trap specialists. It sits close to existing pipeline infrastructure.

Armed with cutting-edge seismic technology, ADX deployed advanced 3D imaging techniques to pinpoint gas-charged sweet spots hiding in permeable reservoirs. The targets also bear striking similarities to the seismic signatures of proven gas fields already producing across the basin.

The summary details the potential of an extensive and valuable exploration play located in an investment setting where gas is highly valued and can be rapidly brought to market. In parallel to well planning, permitting and farmout discussions, our team is continuing to mature further shallow gas prospects in newly acquired acreage within the ADX-AT-I varied licence.

ADX sees the GOLD cluster targets as the crown jewels in its exploration portfolio. The company’s 100 per cent-owned AT-II licence includes three shallow Hall Formation prospects – dubbed GOLD, GRAB and ZAUN – and holds a combined mean resource estimate of 13Bcf, with geological chances of success ranging from 55 per cent to a massive 81 per cent.

The GOLD-1 well will be the first cab off the rank and will target two high-confidence gas sands, GOLD A and C, which the company thinks have the highest chances of success at 77 per cent and 81 per cent, respectively.

The GOLD wells will be drilled to depths of just 700 metres to 850m using slim-hole designs and mobile carrier rigs, which should enable cost-effective drilling and an uber quick turnaround of as little as nine days per well.

ADX says it plans to link any discoveries into cluster developments, tying multiple wells into centralised production hubs to cut capital and running costs and boost output.

A dedicated processing facility has already been mapped out, drawing on an initial design capacity of 140,000 cubic metres per day, expandable to 280,000 cubic metres/day for the full cluster development.

Beyond the GOLD cluster, the company is targeting two additional prospects, PIC and STEY, also in the ADX-AT-II licence area, which have a mean prospective estimated gas resource of 8.1Bcf and paydirt probabilities of 75 per cent and 68 per cent, respectively.

The final two prospects, HOCH and SCHOE, sit in the ADX-AT-1 licence area 50 kilometres to the west of the GOLD cluster and are held in a 50:50 joint venture with industrial giant MND Austria. Although these targets are estimated to hold the biggest combined net mean resource of all the prospects at 14.4Bcf, their probability of coming in is lower at 62 per cent and 51 per cent, respectively.

ADX, meanwhile, has opened its data room to farm-in partners, promoting the prospects as a fast-track pathway to gas production in a first-world jurisdiction with existing infrastructure and an underexplored resource base. The company says several groups have already expressed interest, with deals potentially timed to line up with the company’s forecast drilling dates.

As the company finalises its permits and hones its drill plans, ADX looks well-positioned to convert its shallow gas play into a significant revenue stream exactly when Europe needs it most.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au