Helium One still Confident on a Q3 spud
“…We’re currently in negotiations with several drilling contractors, not just one. It’s critical for myself and the company that we fulfil this commitment this year…”
Lorna Blaisse had been principal geologist of Helium One Global just shy of two years when she was elevated to chief executive, so has the relative luxury of knowing the project, the people involved and the potential.
She’s done her groundwork in more ways than one, and for the past fifteen years has worked on oil and gas projects in Africa including “several successful multi-well drilling campaigns in Chad, Uganda and Kenya.”
Her immediate task is securing a rig so that the helium explorer can pursue Phase II exploration drilling in Tanzania. Blaisse emphasises that Uganda and Kenya lie on the same geological trend as the basins they’re exploring in Tanzania, “and as a result of this I can draw from many, many parallels, not just in the subsurface, but also above ground.”
The failures to secure rigs dogged the end of the previous chief executive’s tenure, but Blaisse is ensuring it doesn’t cloud the start of her executiveship.
“We’re currently in negotiations with several drilling contractors, not just one. It’s critical for myself and the company that we fulfil this commitment this year. And we’re moving closer to an execution stage on the contract side.”
“I’m remaining confident that we will still deliver on that Q3 spud.”
The spud it is hoped will be at Tai – its priority prospect at Helium’s Rukwa project area.
Blaisse says there’s unfinished business at Tai. That business though is dependent on securing a rig and as Lorna tells Sarah Lowther in the podcast below that “once we have that secure, that is where the hard work begins. This is where the journey starts all over.”
Watch Lorna (below) and the board talking to investors at the 2023 AGM
Watch Lorna and previous CEO David Minchin talk investors thorough Helium’s most recent technical presentation
For regular video updates on Helium One follow on @Heliumone1
The author was remunerated but does not hold shares in the company
