Georgina Energy (GEX) , an Australia-focused natural resources explorer, issued an operational update on its flagship project EP513 Hussar in the Officer Basin, Western Australia, targeting significant prospective resources of natural gas, hydrogen and helium.
Georgina said its wholly owned subsidiary Westmarket Oil & Gas had received formal approval of its well management plan for Hussar from the Western Australian mining regulator DPME (formerly DEMIRS). The approval covers the proposed drilling, well suspension, and care & maintenance activities.
DPME has imposed two conditions on Westmarket - that exploration and recovery of helium can only occur as a mixture with hydrocarbons, and that GEX must provide valid insurance cover for the drilling prior to spudding the Hussar-2 well.
Once Westmarket has received approval for its environmental management plan for Hussar, the final drill approval should be granted by DMPE.
Anthony Hamilton, CEO of Georgina Energy, commented: "Georgina's operations team has worked on all the required obligations for the Hussar drilling permit approval in cooperation with the indigenous community representatives. We await approval for our extended environmental plan, and look forward to receiving the final drilling approval once all obligations and approvals have been obtained."
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Georgina Energy confirms the regulatory approval of its well management plan for Hussar-2, part of its flagship project EP513 Hussar in the Officer Basin, Western Australia. Only one step remains before the final drill authorisation is granted by DPME - the approval of Hussar's expanded environmental plan, which is expected shortly.
In late 2024, Georgina commissioned a resource study for Hussar EP513 that resulted in a 20% resource upgrade across the main commodities helium, hydrogen and hydrocarbons, alongside an increase in the exploration footprint by 50km2. The resource boost necessitated additional applications to DPME (then DEMIRS), which have now all but cleared.
Once final drill approval is granted, Georgina will undertake repairs at the Hussar airstrip, access roads, and begin to construct drilling and camp location pads and water wells. Hussar's well re-entry process is expected to take approximately 50 days. The extension of the exploration footprint by 50km2 should unlock additional well targets and prospective resources.
Hussar is considered one of the most lucrative resource basins in the Asia-Pacific region. Following the 20% resource upgrade, the asset is estimated to host unrisked 2U prospective resources of 196 bcfg of helium, 218 bcfg of hydrogen and 2.03 tcfg of hydrocarbons.
In February 2025, GEX announced a scoping study covering Hussar that confirmed the asset's excellent economics and potential to produce commercial quantities of helium, hydrogen, and natural gas. The study's base case established a robust framework for Hussar's commercial development, with a 40 MMscfd raw gals flow scenario, generating a 27.3% IRR and US$1.64bn NPV.
While Georgina is still in the pre-revenue phase, it has made substantial progress over the past year in de-risking its assets in Australia and advancing toward drill-ready status. With a focus on launching its maiden drilling campaign at Hussar, alongside the Mt Winter-1 well reentry program at EPA155, the company is poised to unlock significant value over the next year.
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