Geochemical survey confirms high levels of hydrogen and helium at the Monzon prospect.
Helios Aragon is a leading natural hydrogen company.
Helios Aragon has completed an extensive geochemical sampling programme at the 100% owned Barbastro-Monzon permits located in Aragon Province, Spain. The soil gas survey was carried out in conjunction with Geochemical Insight and postdoctoral support from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, to identify hydrogen and helium microseeps over the Monzon prospect and adjacent structures.
The Monzon-1 discovery well, drilled in the 1960s to target a large anticlinal structure, recorded high total gas shows at a depth of 3600 metres which were analysed and determined at the time to be pure hydrogen. It is now believed a mixture of hydrogen and helium is more probable. A thick overlying salt sequence provides an effective seal to the Triassic reservoir across the permits.
The geochemical survey was specifically designed to test for gases present in the vicinity of Monzon-1, over adjacent mapped prospects and, for calibration purposes, locations unlikely to have hydrogen and helium accumulations at depth.
The results from the survey provide an excellent correlation between surface readings and the underlying geological features. Recorded hydrogen levels near the Monzon-1 well were consistently several hundred times higher than background levels. Similar results were found over a prospect which displays a pronounced gas “chimney” identifiable on seismic and over deep-seated thrust faults, north and south of the mapped prospects, which are potential conduits for hydrogen and helium migration. As predicted, there were negligible readings of hydrogen away from Triassic structural closures. Helium levels were multiples higher than background levels at Monzon-1, above the gas chimney and the southern thrust fault.
The forward plan is to drill an appraisal well on the Monzon structure early in 2024 to determine commerciality of the project. The Barbastro-Monzon permits were granted to Helios Aragon in June 2020 and have a 6-year initial term.
Company CEO, Ian Munro commented that:
“The results from the survey are very encouraging for the Aragon Project and confirm the Monzon-1 well results regarding the presence of hydrogen. The significant recorded helium is also exciting given the increasing market demand for this valuable gas.
With the support of the Regional and Federal Governments, we aim to be in a position to drill an appraisal well on the Monzon structure within the next 2 years to determine development options for the project.
The Helios Aragon vision is to produce competitively priced natural hydrogen and associated helium which can be utilised locally or distributed throughout Spain and Europe. In doing so, our goal is to help establish a hydrogen hub which can ultimately also be used for the storage of locally manufactured green hydrogen to support the broader transition to a lower carbon future”.
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