‘These things happen’: Lakes Blue not worried by mud motor issue at Wombat-5 Well

Lakes Blue Energy (ASX:LKO) has dropped the latest on its Wombat-5 Well (side-track two) in the Gippsland Basin, and while it’s been a bit of a slow burn for the company, things are now looking more back on track.

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As of 8am AEST today, the well was sitting at 1,259 metres measured depth (MD), with 28 days on the clock since spud. The crew hit a bit of a hiccup yesterday, with no progress in the past 24 hours, but it turns out the culprit wasn’t the drill bit as first suspected. The issue? A failed downhole mud motor.

No dramas though, the busted motor’s been swapped out, and the contractor is now running back into the 8-1/2” hole to press on toward the 7” casing point. The team’s aiming to punch through to the target formation, the Strzelecki Formation, sitting just a bit deeper at 1,360mRT (true vertical depth).

Currently, they’re drilling through the Latrobe Group, a well-known producer in the region. The last casing, 9-5/8”, was set at 302.4mRT, and with safety always a priority, it’s good to note there’ve been zero lost-time injuries (LTIs) so far.

The company’s board is upbeat. “These things happen in drilling… It’s just part of the game,” a company rep wrote. “Identifying the mud-motor issue early and sorting it quickly has helped keep things moving. We’re looking forward to reaching target depth shortly and getting a better look at what’s down there.”

The Wombat-5 Well is a key part of the company’s VIC gas plans; solid results could be a real gamechanger, especially with supply under the microscope on the east coast.

LKO has been up +6.3% at $3 in afternoon trade.

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