D3 Energy's Second Nooitgedacht Well Deepens the Bet on a 95,000 cf/d Gas Sweet Spot

Low-cost Nooitgedacht drilling raises the stakes on a promising gas target

This is the setup value investors like: a small check against a potentially important gas play. D3E is running a two-hole drilling program at Nooitgedacht, with one well budgeted at about A$200,000. The risk is still relatively low, but the upside could matter if the campaign confirms what the January test already suggested.

The pace is notable. The second well was spudded on 30 July, roughly a week after work began on the first well. That leaves a relatively short runway to the next proof point: production testing, which will be critical for judging deliverability and future development decisions.

Investors are already reacting. The stock jumped about 17.7% on 23 July 2026 after the drilling commencement update, a sign that the market is assigning value to tangible progress while the cost of proof remains low.

Why production testing matters next

That progress is important precisely because the story is not proven yet. The next key catalyst is straightforward: once drilling gives way to production testing, investors will have actual flow data rather than inference from nearby historic results and early drilling indicators.