ADX Energy has put more power behind its Austrian gas strategy after a second flow test at the company’s HOCH-1 discovery delivered a stable average of 3.15 million cubic feet per day, or 548 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The stronger technical read on the shallow gas system beneath Upper Austria will help shape the next phase of testing. At the same time, a simultaneous workover campaign has kicked off the company’s established Vienna Basin fields, targeting a 100-barrel-of-oil-equivalent-per-day lift, representing a 40 per cent increase.
The HOCH discovery well, completed in May, was drilled in ADX’s Upper Austria exploration licence, where the company is operator with a 50 per cent economic interest and encountered up to eight biogenic gas reservoirs. These occurred in the Hall basin-floor fan and the deeper Hall Channel formations, containing evenly distributed sands and thinner, elongated channel sands respectively.
ADX says post-drill three-dimensional seismic mapping has linked the deeper Hall Channel sands to nearby production wells, suggesting the stratigraphic trap may extend at least 2.5km to the south-east.
ADX used its calibrated geological model to rank a pipeline of follow-up targets, with the GOLD and SCHOEN prospects now waiting in the wings as the second and third wells in the current shallow-gas campaign once HOCH testing wraps up.
The initial test phase at HOCH is now complete, with a single-zone flow averaging 2.7 million cubic feet per day, or 450 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Pressure build-up analysis pointed to potential sand productivity of 3.5 million standard cubic feet per day within a reservoir interpreted to extend at least 600m from HOCH-1.
However, a subsequent commingled flow test, producing gas from that zone and three other sands, delivered 3.15 million cubic feet per day over 12 hours. Downhole pressure data confirmed contributions from those sands, strengthening the case for further work, although short-duration flows should not be treated as sustained production guidance.
Management says the positive results from the zones tested so far have bolstered confidence in the deeper Hall Channel sands. The company now has a proven gas discovery with strong flows, a clear path to test additional zones and a simultaneous production boost underway at its cash-generating Vienna Basin assets.
The combined production enhancement and well test work program allows ADX to utilise a contracted work over rig to efficiently and cost effectively incorporate HOCH-1 testing work with the production enhancement program at our 100% owned Vienna Basin fields.
The company is now gearing up for a second phase focused on the deeper Hall Channel zones. The workover rig program will start on 19 October, removing the existing downhole equipment at HOCH-1 before drilling out a cement plug and installing a new testing assembly. The rig will then perforate at least one deeper reservoir, known as Test Zone 6, ahead of a flow test scheduled to begin on December 15.
The same rig will work on the Vienna Basin’s Gaiselberg and Zistersdorf fields, perforating a gas zone, installing a downhole gas test string, replacing a pump and opening a new production interval with sand-retention equipment. Management expects the work to add 100 barrels of oil equivalent per day, representing a 40 per cent increase in ADX’s Austrian production.
The uplift comes against a favourable price backdrop, with Brent trading at US$100 (A$143) per barrel and European gas at EUR75 (A$119) per megawatt hour when the announcement was released. Management said the gas price equated to an oil-price equivalent of US$152 (A$218) per barrel, although commodity prices remain volatile.
Austrian regulators have flagged that national gas production is set to rise in 2026, reinforced by major players such as OMV starting up the country’s largest discovery in 40 years. With European gas prices elevated, new local supply is proving invaluable.
The mature operating region brings another big tick, with treatment facilities, pipelines, roads and service contractors already on the doorstep. Beyond its near-term Austrian production base, ADX has bigger exploration prizes in its sights, led by the deeper Welchau carbonate play in Upper Austria and offshore gas opportunities in Italy.
For now, HOCH-1 and the Vienna Basin are moving in tandem, with one testing the growth thesis and the other adding more cash-generating muscle. In a European energy market hungry for local supply, ADX appears to be firing on all cylinders.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au
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