Helium test well finds gas in Las Animas, economic prospects improve

NASCO Energie und Rohstoff AG reported that a planned geological test well on the Stanley White concession in Las Animas County reached its target depth of 442 meters on November 13, 2025 and produced a gas show while penetrating the Lyons Sand at 330 meters. The drilling was primarily a hydrogeological survey and did not include detailed gas composition measurements, but it yielded information that will shape design of future production wells and casing plans to protect groundwater.

The company said the Lyons Sand at the site has more than 36 meters of thickness with high porosity and permeability, conditions that can sustain a steady inflow even at relatively low reservoir pressure. NASCO noted the Las Animas structure sits about 91 meters higher than southeast neighboring wells where helium concentrations of up to 8.8 percent were previously measured. For context, industry observers consider about 0.5 percent helium by volume the practical lower boundary for economic interest, while NASCO and others target formations with helium concentrations above five percent as particularly valuable.

NASCO operates the project through its wholly owned subsidiary NSC Helium Colorado LLC which holds 75 percent of the concession. The test also identified a water bearing unit in the Morrison Formation at roughly 75 meters, information that the company said will be used to specify casing and cementing so that shallow groundwater zones are reliably isolated from any future production operations.

Jan Warstat, CEO of NASCO Energie und Rohstoff AG, said in the company release, "Die erfolgreiche Testbohrung ist ein wichtiger Schritt für die Weiterentwicklung des Projekts und für den Ausbau unseres Heliumgeschäfts. Die gewonnenen Daten geben uns wertvolle Hinweise zur Optimierung der Bohrtechnik und erhöhen die Erfolgsaussichten für eine wirtschaftliche Förderung. Der Gasfund bestätigt unser geologisches Modell und unser Verständnis der Lagerstätte."

The broader market backdrop reinforces why local stakeholders are watching the project. Helium is scarce on Earth and global demand is rising for uses ranging from cooling superconducting magnets in medical scanners to semiconductor manufacturing, leak detection, welding and aerospace applications. The United States is the largest market for helium, followed by Asia and Europe, and constrained supply has supported rising prices in recent years.

For Las Animas County the immediate impact is that this step moves the project from pure exploration toward evaluation for potential development. That raises the prospect of future jobs, service contracting and royalty revenues, but it also brings environmental and regulatory considerations, especially groundwater protection and surface infrastructure. NASCO has listed additional holdings in the Four Corner region including sites in northeast Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, and said it has pursued helium projects since 2014.

At present there is no production and no estimate of recoverable volumes from the Las Animas site. The company has indicated that the new subsurface data will feed into planning for test production wells and further reservoir evaluation before any commercial decision is made.