Proactive Investors - Mosman Oil and Gas Ltd (LON:MSMN) has highlighted to investors further progress in its efforts to explore for helium and hydrogen in Australia’s Northern Territory.
The project, permit EP 145, is being progressed through an approvals process to open up the next phase of exploration.
It comes as the company is working to seal its proposed farm-out partnership with Greenvale Energy which can earn up to 75% of the project by funding seismic data capture and by paying for the partners to drill a well (capped at A$5.5mln).
At present, the partners are awaiting ministerial approval to greenlight the deal.
“We are pleased to see continued progress in EP 145 where we see potential for helium and hydrogen as well as proven hydrocarbons,” Mosman chief executive Andy Carroll said.
Mosman, in today’s statement, noted that recent meetings with NT departments were positive, and the project remains on track – under the original deal with Greenvale a break deadline was set to allow either party to cancel, and that date has now been extended to 30 April.
The project is in the spotlight as explorers increasingly look to more specialty resources, like helium and hydrogen, which for quite different reasons are currently sought-after premium resources.
For the EP 145 area, historical drilling in the 1980s uncovered hydrocarbons, though at the time those findings were not tested for hydrogen or helium. Sources of the gases were later identified in the basin, during the mid-2000s.
More recently, reprocessing of seismic data by Mosman identified a large structure, where it sees ‘untapped potential’ for helium and hydrogen resources.
Prospective resource estimates published by Mosman in October 2022 revealed substantial gas, helium, and hydrogen deposits.
Alongside Greenvale, the plan is to start a seismic acquisition program in the first half of 2024 to finalise a well location by August, which would then be followed by drilling.
Mosman, meanwhile, highlighted that the global helium market is poised for significant growth, with the market expected to expand from US$5 billion in 2023 to over US$8 billion by 2030, supported by surging prices and demand.
It sees EP 145, in the north of Australia, as being in a strategic location within proven play fairway, and its proximity to existing pipeline infrastructure - which is tied into export routes to Asia.
Mosman believes there is an opportunity for “early commercialisation” if the exploration in the field proves successful.