The global helium market was about 6 million tonnes in 2022 and is projected to reach nearly 11.8mt by 2032.
Whitebark Energy chairman Mark Lindh said: “The acquisition of King Energy is a very positive outcome for the company, offering access to some of Australia’s largest seismically defined onshore structures. The exploration opportunities provide Whitebark with exposure to the fast-growing white hydrogen industry, in conjunction with high demand and high-priced helium, and hydrocarbons to fuel Australia’s energy transition requirements.”
King Energy lays claim to a 70 per cent interest in Officer Energy which indirectly owns 100 per cent of two petroleum exploration licences covering a whopping 19,467 square kilometres of the Officer Basin in South Australia.
King Energy director Richard King describes the Officer Basin as an underexplored “frontier” with massive untapped potential to hold significant resources. The company also controls the operations of the Alinya project.
The Alinya project is made up of more than 20 identified prospects with the standout Rickerscote, Milford and Milford West targets tallying up more than 400 square kilometres of closure or productive areas, spearheading the trio to the biggest, undrilled, seismically defined, sub-salt structures in onshore Australia.
Current interpretations of existing well intersections demonstrate that all the crucial elements necessary for the discovery of white hydrogen and helium, together with hydrocarbons, are proven to be present. These include stacked reservoir-seal pairs, salt seals and multiple source rock intervals capable of generating hydrogen, helium and hydrocarbons.
Whitebark’s management says the massive production area of the currently identified prospects and the occurrence of hydrogen and helium in an encountered gas column, discovery volumes could be globally significant for white hydrogen, helium and hydrocarbons to potentially transform the conventional energy needs of Australia.
Whitebark is wasting no time with field operations slated to commence in the first quarter of next year. The company is planning a soil geochemistry survey using the most recently developed monitoring technology to assess ground soil presence of hydrogen and helium, followed by 250km of modern 2D seismic infill across the Rickerscote and Milford prospects aimed at pinpointing drilling locations.
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