D3 Energy (ASX:D3E) has successfully reached total depth in the second of two planned wells at Nooitgedacht NGT245 D, located within the ER315 permit in the Free State, South Africa.

The achievement marks the next phase of the company's ongoing exploration and appraisal programme, which is aimed at expanding its reserve base in ER315 and converting additional exploration right areas (ERs) to production rights.

The Nooitgedacht area sits approximately 43 km north of the Bloemskraal area, where D3 Energy has already booked reserves to support a production right application lodged last year. The site is positioned along the Homestead Fault, which traverses the northern section of ER315.

Well NGT245 D, the second of the two planned wells, was drilled to a total depth of 348m, completed on time and within budget. The drilling rig has since returned to the first well, NGT245 E, to install production casing and enable logging to commence at NGT245 D. Once that activity is completed at NGT245 E, the rig will move back to NGT245 D to install production casing there as well.

With production casing installed in both wells, NGT245 E and NGT245 D will undergo further evaluation, including flow testing and gas sample compositional analysis.

The two wells target faulting and associated fractures in the Ventersdorp and Witwatersrand formations, with the objective of further assessing the reservoir's deliverability and gathering additional data on helium and methane concentrations. Helium is a non-renewable industrial gas used in medical imaging, semiconductor manufacturing, space exploration, and scientific research, with a constrained global supply chain that has drawn exploration interest to emerging provinces such as South Africa's Free State.

"The rapid and successful completion of the second well in our programme further demonstrates the low-cost and efficient nature of our drilling operations," said Managing Director and CEO David Casey.

"As we continue to apply the lessons learned from each well, we expect to achieve even greater efficiencies and further reduce costs. This will be particularly important and relevant in a production development scenario."

"Given the as expected exceptionally low reservoir pressure in this area, the flow of gas to the surface in our first well while drilling was an incredibly encouraging, albeit unexpected surprise. It is however anticipated that both wells will need some time after the casing has been installed for the reservoir to stabilise ahead of production testing in the coming weeks."

D3 Energy's flagship ER315 permit has yielded independently verified helium concentrations of up to 8.0%. Concentrations at that level are notable within the broader helium exploration sector, where viable projects have historically been defined by concentrations well below that threshold. The permit is the subject of production right application PR016, which is currently under assessment by South Africa's Petroleum Agency SA (PASA). Approval of that application would enable the company to move from exploration-stage activities toward commercial production.

D3E shares were steady at 33.0¢, with a market capitalisation of $49.86M.