Natural hydrogen, also known as gold or white hydrogen, refers to hydrogen that is found in its natural form as a free gas.
As part of the development study, Black & Veatch will provide two concept designs on H2EX’s exploration licence PEL 691 on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. One concept design will be for the drilling and completion of a hydrogen exploration well. The other concept design will be for surface facilities to purify, process and deliver natural hydrogen and helium, including co-production of the resources, if they are discovered together.
US-headquartered Black & Veatch will analyse gas industry practices related to well drilling and extraction infrastructure and identify key considerations to adapt these practices for natural hydrogen and helium.
“[We have] an 80-year history working with hydrogen and ammonia production in multiple industries. The company developed the first hydrogen power generation conversion project and the first major hydrogen fuelling station deployment in the United States,” commented Yatin Premchand, managing director, strategic growth, global advisory, Black & Veatch.
The study is part of an Australian federal government funded by project lead by H2EX to enable green and passive exploration techniques to accelerate the discovery of natural hydrogen.
The study into extraction solutions is intended to provide a pathway to drill and extract the lowest-cost hydrogen, which could be up to 75% more cost effective than manufacturing hydrogen, according to H2EX. The objective of the study is to unlock first-mover benefits for Australia within an emerging sector globally and create substantial local and export opportunities while retaining the country’s competitive advantage, and technical and engineering expertise.
“This important development study will help H2EX fast-track our first exploration wells and development scheme. If successful, hydrogen will be a great source of energy for power generation and transport on the Eyre Peninsula,” said H2EX chief executive Mark Hanna.
He added that high concentrations of helium, which is also a high-value and scarce commodity, have been discovered by recent drilling in South Australia.
The study, which is partly funded by Australia’s federal Department of Science and Innovation through the Cooperative Research Council Projects (CRC-P) Grants Round-14 initiative that supports short-term, industry-led research collaborations, is estimated to be completed by mid-2024.
Two oil bores drilled 100 years ago in South Australia discovered hydrogen of between 50% and 85% purity, while ASX-listed Gold Hydrogen in late 2023 drilled the Ramsay 1 and 2 exploration wells and confirmed the similar historical results. These probes also encountered elevated levels of helium of up to 6%.
