NASCO AG: Partner in a Joint Venture to Develop Another Large Helium Asset in New Mexico

HAMBURG, Germany, Aug. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- NASCO Energie & Rohstoff AG (NASCO), an natural resource specialist headquartered in Hamburg, Germany and active in the USA, is pleased to announce that it is a 30% joint venture partner in a newly formed company with the purpose to develop one of North Americas 20 largest Helium fields under a farm in agreement with Vision Energy Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Praxair Inc. The asset also has producable quantities of Natural Gas and Crude Oil reserves. The 4480 acre Hogback field is located in north-western San Juan County close to the Four Corners area, in New Mexico, USA.

According to preliminary analysis and previously conducted drilling, probable reserves are estimated to be 50 BCF of Natural Gas and 2.5 BCF of Helium. Proved undeveloped reserves are expected to be 450 MBO of Crude Oil.

The Hogback fields are located in one of the top helium reserves in the world. Current estimates of the amount of helium content in the natural gas mix range between 3% to above 6% against an exploration industry average of 0,5% - 1%. Nasco is extremely pleased to see that the longevity and deliverability of this important asset continues to be validated by both production and development and firmly establishes Nasco as an important player in the global Helium market.

NASCO CEO Jan Warstat stated, ‟We are extremely happy to be a partner in this exciting opportunity. We look forward to a successful development of another strategically important core asset of our company. Drilling of the oil asset in the Dakota Sandstone has commenced with the first of 6 wells spudded August 7^th, 2018. A 3-D seismic survey will be acquired over the full acreage commencing 4^th quarter 2018 to get a better understanding about the reservoir".  

NASCO – Well-Positioned in the Biggest Global Commodity Market:

NASCO Energie & Rohstoff AG has been making targeted investments to expand their helium activities since 2014. Previously, their helium production focused solely on a site in Arizona with the Navajo name Dineh-bi-Keyah (DBK), which is located in northeast Arizona, an area known as the Four Corners region. What makes the DBK field so remarkable is that its raw gas has an above-average helium content of more than five percent, a rare global occurrence. In comparison, the gas starts being economically worth extracting when it has a helium content of 0.5 percent.

NASCO is the controlling shareholder of the DBK helium field in Arizona and holds 60% of the permits and controls 80% of the Operating Company, Capitol Operating Group, LLC.

Increasing Global Demand for Helium:

Global demand for the noble gas helium is increasing, yet its availability on this planet is limited. This is driving helium prices up. The USA is the biggest market for helium, followed by Asia and Europe. Helium has many commercial and scientific uses worldwide, primarily in cryogenics as a coolant for very low temperatures (e.g., for cooling superconducting magnets for CT scans), as a material used in welding and cutting, as a tracer gas for leak detection, as a compressed gas to deploy automobile airbags, as a lifting gas for airships and balloons, and also as a component gas of breathing mixes for divers. In addition, it plays a decisive role in researching new technologies.

ABOUT NASCO

The oil and gas specialist NASCO Energie & Rohstoff AG (NASCO), which is located in Hamburg, Germany, and active in the USA, is one of the few German producers on the global helium market. The company acquires, develops and operates helium gas fields in the USA, which is the largest commodities market in the world. NASCO owns five sites in four U.S. states as well as their own offshore extraction concessions for helium, crude oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico. Their helium clients are U.S. refineries and industrial gas companies that refine and sell the noble gas to end customers. The company has a long-term supply agreement with Praxair, the leading industrial gas company in the USA.

CONTACT  
Investor Relations     
NASCO Energie & Rohstoff AG   
Mittelweg 110 – 20149 Hamburg, Germany   
Telephone +49-(0)-40-2261-63030     
Email: [email protected] 

SOURCE NASCO Energie & Rohstoff AG