• McCoy 1 was drilled to a total depth of 5,562ft mDKB (1,695m) on time, on budget,
with no HSE incidents.
• McCoy 1 mud gas logs have recorded hydrogen and helium gas readings while
drilling through the sedimentary and basement sections1
. The mud gas samples
collected at surface are being sent to an independent laboratory for verification
and quantification.
• This well drilled into the same fault block as Sue Duroche 3 (April 2025) that
reported concentrations of hydrogen up to 96% and helium up to 5%2
. The
distance between McCoy 1 and Sue Duroche 3 is 9 kms.
• Company has 3,116 contiguous net acres around the McCoy 1 well site right next
to the Interstate Highway (I70) which is a major arterial route crossing the USA
stretching for ~3500km in a West-East direction across 10 states.
• Learnings from the previous two wells have been incorporated into McCoy 1, with
a modified well design providing immediate cost and efficiency benefits while
drilling the basement section.
• McCoy 1 exploration well will be converted to an appraisal well in coming days via
a workover rig to proactively monitor the well and evaluate flow test viability. This
is a crucial step to inform testing plans.
HyTerra Limited has now drilled three wells back-toback between April and July 2025 at the Nemaha Project in Kansas, USA. All three wells are drilled
on time, on budget, and with no HSE incidents. This exploration program funding is sourced from
an investment in the Company by Fortescue Future Industries Technologies Pty Ltd.
HyTerra Executive Director, Mr Benjamin Mee said “The preliminary McCoy 1 results are
encouraging and I’m glad we collected conventional core for analysis. Now we will clean up the
wellbore immediately and install downhole monitoring equipment. This is a proactive step and a
crucial one to support the design of initial testing plans. We remain safe, data-driven, and methodical
in our approach to analysis and subsurface integration. That’s the HyTerra way.”
McCoy 1 Operations
Murfin Rig 116 spudded McCoy 1 at 12:30pm on the 10th July 2025 (Kansas time) and was drilled
to a total depth of 5,562ft mDKB (1,695m) on time, on budget, with no HSE incidents (Figure 1). The
wireline logging operations are completed. This is the deepest well the Company has drilled to
date. The well drilled through approximately 1,430ft (435m) of sedimentary rocks and 4,132ft
(1260m) of Pre-Cambrian basement. Elevated hydrogen and helium were detected while drilling via
the mud gas system, with samples currently being sent to an independent laboratory (Isotech
Laboratories Inc.) for verification and quantification at which time the results will be released to the
market.
McCoy 1 is a major milestone as the Company moves away from "twinning” historical wells to now selecting well locations based on geological understanding, proprietary geophysical data, and in house IP. The well site is located around 9km southeast of Sue Duroche 1, 2, and 3 drilled in 2008, 2009, and 2025, respectively. McCoy 1 drilled into the same geological play as Sue Duroche 3 within a fault block defined by seismic (Figure 2). Sue Duroche 3 reported hydrogen concentrations of up to 96% and helium concentrations up to 5%2 . The Company has 3,116 contiguous net acres around the McCoy 1 well site right next to the Interstate Highway (I70) which is a major arterial route crossing the USA stretching for ~3500km in a West-East direction across 10 states.
Learnings from the previous two wells have been incorporated into the design of McCoy 1 with a
modified well design providing cost and efficiency benefits. This has enabled the well to be drilled
deeper than the previous two wells and allowed the collection of conventional core for detailed
analysis in combination with Sue Duroche 3's side wall cores.
Operations Lookahead
HyTerra is continuing its deliberate, data driven de-risking strategy by converting exploration wells
with encouraging results to appraisal wells via a separate workover rig. This is required to evaluate
flow test viability, which is a crucial step to inform testing plans.
Each of Sue Duroche 3 and Blythe 13-20 were converted straight away to appraisal wells. Similarly
for McCoy 1, a workover rig is expected in coming days to immediately convert the McCoy 1
exploration well to an appraisal well by actively cleaning the well up and installing downhole
monitoring equipment.
The appraisal data from Sue Duroche 3 and McCoy 1 that drilled into the same geological play will
be integrated into informing any future testing plans.
HyTerra VP Development and Operations, Mr Josh Whitcombe, said “It’s great to see our
Kansas based operational team doing such a great job at safely and efficiently implementing our
drilling and well intervention program. To be able to complete a program of three wells and multiple
work over rig visits in such a short time, without incident is a testament to our team and operational
excellence.”
This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board of Directors.