Solo Oil Plc Update on Helium One's Projects, Tanzania (2214Y)
04 December 2017 - 6:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMSOLO
RNS Number : 2214Y
Solo Oil Plc
04 December 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Embargoed until 7 am 4 December 2017
SOLO OIL PLC
("Solo" or the "Company")
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 Limited
("Helium One"), the pure play helium explorer in Tanzania in which
Solo currently holds a 10% shareholding interest.
Solo and Helium One have also negotiated several agreements
including a Technical Services Agreement ("TSA") through which Solo
will continue to provide valuable technical assistance, especially
in the areas of seismic analysis, interpretation and prospect
assessment. Solo will be remunerated for its contribution to the
technical program and associated costs, designed to reach drilling
decisions on the prospects and leads already identified in the
Rukwa area of Tanzania, by way of the issue of new shares in Helium
One. It is anticipated that through this mechanism Solo will
increase its holdings in Helium One to approximately 15%, with the
planned work to be completed in the first half of 2018.
Over the last few months Helium One, with Solo's direct
assistance, have continued the technical studies designed to reach
drilling decisions on the prospects and leads already identified in
the Rukwa Basin. In addition to the soil and seep geochemistry data
previously acquired, Helium One has been able to carry out various
seismic reprocessing trials aimed at improving the quality of
existing seismic data to allow for more detailed structural and
stratigraphic mapping of the identified prospects and leads.
Further analysis work, which will be supervised by Solo under
the TSA, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2018
at which time this enhanced data set will be integrated into the
other data types, for example geochemistry and airborne surveys,
and a new resource estimate made. Direct gas indications such as
amplitude versus offset anomalies, bright spots and gas chimneys
have been observed on the data and these support the extensive seep
geochemistry work that has been done to date. As a result of this
planned work a full prospect ranking will be completed prior to the
planned drilling which is expected to be underway later in
2018.
Neil Ritson, Solo's Chairman commented:
"Recent technical work, especially the addition of improved
seismic imaging, has significantly enhanced our ability to predict
the likelihood of finding trapped helium in the subsurface. When
that is combined with scoping studies for the development phase of
any discovery we are increasingly confident that we will be able to
reach low risk drilling decisions in the next year. We look forward
to further contributing to this program and to participating in the
eventual drilling of this exciting new play in 2018."
Tom Abraham-James, Helium One's Chief Executive commented:
"We are very pleased with the progress being made towards
drilling and are delighted that Solo will be able to continue to
directly assist the project over the coming months. The scoping
study recently conducted on the Songwe prospect in Rukwa by SRK
Consulting fully supports the economic viability of development
should the current exploration phase be successful with the drill
bit."
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 / Rosalind
Abrahams +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 40 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").
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:
bcf billion cubic feet
---- ----------------------------------
BLM US Bureau of Land Management
---- ----------------------------------
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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