Solo Oil Plc Technical update on Helium One's Projects (5307E)
09 May 2017 - 4:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMSOLO
RNS Number : 5307E
Solo Oil Plc
09 May 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Embargoed until 7 am 9 May 2017
SOLO OIL PLC
("Solo" or the "Company")
Technical Update on Helium One's Projects, Tanzania
Solo Oil plc (AIM: SOLO), the natural resources investment
company focused on acquiring and developing a diverse global
non-operated portfolio of strategic oil and gas assets is pleased
to announce recent technical progress by Helium One, the pure play
helium explorer in Tanzania in which Solo holds 10% interest and an
option to increase that interest by a further 10%.
Highlights
- Acquisition of a 16,000 line kilometre Airborne Gravity
Gradiometry (AGG) and magnetic survey over the Rukwa and Balangida
licence areas is now complete
- Planning of a second phase Rukwa soil gas and groundwater
geochemistry survey is in progress for field work to start in the
third quarter of 2017
- This second phase follows on from the 2016 Rukwa soil gas
geochemistry survey which confirmed widespread helium micro-seepage
characteristic of subsurface trapped accumulations
- Dan Maling, Solo's Finance Director, has joined the Helium One
Board of Directors as Solo's non-executive representative
Helium One have now completed the acquisition of extensive
airborne geophysical data with the preliminary grids expected to be
received later in May 2017. In parallel with this and to complement
that data, after successful analysis of the soil micro-seepage
survey completed in 2016, a further more detailed soil geochemistry
survey is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2017. So far
Helium One has collected and analysed almost 1,500 soil samples for
helium, CO(2) , hydrogen, nitrogen and hydrocarbons in the most
advanced project in the Rukwa licence area. The work programme
being undertaken in 2017 is intended to identify drillable
prospects as soon as practical with drilling planned for 2018.
Neil Ritson, Solo's Chairman commented:
"Helium One's licence areas, and especially Rukwa, represent one
of the most exciting new potential sources of commercial helium in
the world today. The most recent results from the field continue to
be very encouraging and the integration of all the data will move
us much closer to drilling a subsurface trap. Solo's team is
working closely with Helium One and providing our expertise in
developing the timeline and plan for technical activity ahead of
drilling which is currently scheduled for next year."
Helium is a naturally occurring elemental gas which, owing to
its unique properties, is critical to the function of
superconductors which are used in several forms of scientific and
medical scanners, such as MRI; it also has extensive uses in
computing and communications infrastructure manufacture, industrial
testing and transportation. Global demand for helium is growing at
a rate that is outstripping supply, which presents a significant
pricing opportunity for future producers.
For further information:
Solo Oil plc
Neil Ritson / Dan Maling +44 (0) 20 3794 9230
Beaumont Cornish Limited
Nominated Adviser and
Joint Broker
Roland Cornish +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
Shore Capital
Joint Broker
Jerry Keen
Beaufort Securities
Joint Broker
Jon Belliss
Buchanan (PR) +44 (0) 20 7408 4090
Ben Romney / Chris +44 (0) 20 7382 8300
Judd +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
Qualified Person's Statement:
The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed
and approved by Neil Ritson, Chairman and Director for Solo Oil
plc, who has over 38 years of relevant experience in geology,
resource estimation and the oil and gas industry. Mr. Ritson is a
member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), an Active
Member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London (BGS).
Notes to Editors
Helium is used in hi-tech applications such as MRI scanners
(currently the largest application for helium), semiconductor and
optical fibre manufacturing, computer hard-drives, in the nuclear
and space industries, and for lifting, such as Lockheed Martin's
LMH1 hybrid airship. With around 57% market share, the US is the
dominant supplier. However, the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
which manages the world's largest helium reserve, is auctioning off
an increasing percentage of the reserve annually until it falls to
3.0 bcf or until 30 September 2021, when commercial sales will
cease. After that point the BLM will only supply US government
users, creating a supply shortage which will force industrial
consumers to look for other sources of helium. This transformation
of the industry has resulted in recent bulk helium prices as high
as US$200 per thousand cubic feet ("mcf"), and a domestic USA
helium supply that is increasingly leveraged to primary CO(2)
producing fields.
Further information on helium and the Rukwa project can be found
at Helium One's website at www.helium-one.com and at Solo's website
www.solooil.co.uk.
Glossary:
AGG Airborne Gravity Gradiometry
-------------------- -------------------------------------
bcf billion cubic feet
-------------------- -------------------------------------
gravity gradiometry is the measurement of variations
in the acceleration due to gravity.
The gravity gradient is the spatial
rate of change of gravitational
acceleration
-------------------- -------------------------------------
mcf thousand cubic feet
-------------------- -------------------------------------
MRI magnetic resonance imaging is
a technique that uses a magnetic
field and radio waves to create
detailed images of the organs
and tissues within your body
-------------------- -------------------------------------
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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