Whitebark takes control of SA hydrogen-helium explorer

Whitebark Energy’s bid for King Energy has hit the magic 90 per cent ownership mark, triggering a compulsory acquisition of the rest of the shares in the South Australian gas explorer.

By reaching the threshold, Whitebark has the legal green light to scoop up what’s left and can finally lock in the Alinya project - one of Australia’s most exciting onshore hydrogen, helium and hydrocarbon (3H) plays in South Australia’s Officer Basin.

King currently owns 70 per cent of the Alinya project and has an option to buy the remaining 30 per cent.

The move follows an all-scrip offer in December to fold King Energy’s assets into Whitebark in exchange for 100 million new shares issued at 1.2 cents and 100 million options exercisable at 5c a share, valuing the transaction on paper at $1.67M.

During the takeover period both companies have been busy laying out the groundwork ahead of an aggressive exploration campaign across the project’s massive 19,467-square-kilometre project area.

Whitebark banked $2M of new cash through a placement to new investors while King booked in specialist remote sensing firm DiRT Exploration to run a high-tech remote spectroscopy study to detect surface hydrogen, helium and hydrocarbon emissions.

When the dust settles on the corporate paperwork next month, Whitebark will launch a cutting-edge geochemical survey using remote gas sensors across key high-priority sites.

The program will run continuously for a full month to track gas concentrations and pinpoint future drilling targets.

In the second half of the year, Whitebark will also kick off 2D seismic surveys to uncover a deeper, more detailed picture of the subsurface geology. Talks with seismic contractors are already well advanced and the company expects to shortly lock in its preferred partner.

Alinya is just south of the Southern Amadeus Basin in a spot many consider to be some of Australia’s finest onshore grounds for exploring naturally occurring white hydrogen, helium and natural gas.

A few years ago, Santos and its joint venture partner Central Petroleum took a strong position in the southern Amadeus, identifying top-tier subsalt targets.

The targets are sealed beneath thick, impermeable salt layers, which is ideal for trapping large gas reservoirs. One structure, Mt Kitty, was drilled to 2259 metres and flowed at 500,000 cubic feet per day, revealing 65 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas, 31Bcf of hydrogen and 39Bcf of helium.

Nearby Dukas is an even bigger prospect with an estimated P50 resource of 1.2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas, 253Bcf of hydrogen, and 200Bcf of helium. Although the first well drilled at Dukas was halted at 4704m due to high pressure, farmout talks are in progress to drill a second.

King Energy, meanwhile, has identified up to 20 new prospects in similar source rocks and geological traits, including three exciting subsalt targets, which potentially hold a whopping 1Tcf to 4.5Tcf gas.

For Whitebark, the move to grab control of King Energy and its highly prospective Alinya asset marks the culmination of an ambitious pivot toward green transition energy, which has been perfectly timed as the South Australian government accelerates its bold hydrogen strategy.

Any commercial discoveries of the naturally occurring gas are primed to become increasingly valuable.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au