Botala Energy Ltd (ASX/BSE: BTE), an ASX-listed Coal Bed Methane (CBM) exploration and development company focused on developing production from its 100% owned Serowe CBM Project in Botswana, has announced positive results from its Pitse Pilot program. The company reports a significant increase in confidence regarding the commercial production potential of its Serowe Coal Bed Methane Project following a successful step-rate test at well S3.3, one of six wells in the Pitse Pilot.
The test results indicate that, in addition to the Serowe seam, the Upper Morupule seam also demonstrates the capacity to deliver gas. This validation significantly expands the development options and overall project scale. The presence of free gas observed at the surface, along with indications of supersaturation, further supports the existence of moveable gas within the coal seams, a critical factor for commercial production.
Key data from the well S3.3 test includes permeability ranging from 1 to 3mD, a gas pressure of approximately 630psi, and injectivity exceeding 10 bpm. These parameters align with those typically found in producible coal bed methane reservoirs. Botala Energy CEO, Kris Martinick, highlighted that these results are a major step forward and demonstrate that the Upper Morupule seam is gas-charged and could contribute meaningfully to future production.
The drilling rig has now been mobilised to well S3.5B, with spudding imminent. Data from well-S3.3 is being integrated into the design of well 3.5B. This next phase will focus on stimulation and flow testing to further optimise production strategies. The company believes the data gained from S3.3 provides a high degree of confidence in designing and executing the next stage of stimulation.
