• Strzelecki Formation intersected at 1,410 mRT MD, 4 metres higher than prognosis
• Increasing natural gas shows (methane, ethane, propane) up to 2,400 ppm in drilling mud
• Horizontal program designed to access 1,500 m of gas reservoir production zone

Lakes Blue Energy has provided an update on the drilling operations at the Wombat-5 well, side-track-2 (ST-2), in the Gippsland Basin, Victoria. As of 8:00 am AEST, the well has reached a depth of 1,470 mRT MD (1,379 mRT TVD), with 62 metres of progress in the last 24 hours. The Strzelecki Formation was intersected at 1,410 mRT MD, approximately 4 metres higher vertically than prognosis, in a very weathered sand/claystone at the top of the target gas reservoir. Overnight, initial natural gas shows (methane, ethane and propane) were identified in progressively increasing quantities, up to 12 units or 2,400 parts per million in the drilling mud, from a background of less than 1 unit in the overlying Latrobe Group. These increasing gas shows are consistent with the gas shows from previous Wombat wells, which flowed at rates of up to 3 million cubic feet per day. The horizontal program is designed to drill past the most significant gas intervals from the Wombat-2 and Wombat-3 wells, providing access to 1,500 m of horizontal production zone in the gas reservoir. The company's Chairman, Roland Sleeman, expressed confidence that the gas production prognosis for the Wombat-5 well will be realised based on the strength and quality of the early gas shows.