Rift Helium (RIFT ) has commenced mobilisation for its 3D seismic programme at the company's flagship Upepo project in Tanzania.

The programmes is fully funded and follows the receipt of the Environmental Impact Assessment certificate.

The survey will create a detailed 3D picture of the subsurface structures at Upepo, helping Rift identify and rank targets for drilling.

The resulting data will support an updated independent resource assessment targeted for the first quarter of 2027 and finalise well locations ahead of the planned two-well exploration programme planned for the first half of next year.

Rift will use lightweight portable sensors which are designed to enable efficient data acquisition with little or no line clearing, reducing ground disturbance and health, safety and environmental exposure.

 "With the EIA now secured, we are moving directly into the next phase of field work,” said Charles FitzRoy, chief executive of Rift Helium.

“This is another clear step in delivering the programme we set out at IPO. Our approach is simple: use the best available data to improve drilling decisions before committing capital to exploration wells. The Rukwa Basin has already demonstrated a working helium system. Improved seismic data will allow us to better understand the underground structures at Upepo, identify those with the greatest potential to trap helium and focus our capital on the best targets. The seismic results will support our planned resource update and allow us to finalise the locations for our planned two-well exploration programme. We are progressing through a disciplined sequence - permit, map, rank and drill - with each step designed to reduce uncertainty before the next capital decision. We remain on track for the first exploration well in H1 2027."

 

View from Vox

 

Good to see the momentum maintained at Rift, following the granting of the EIA just a short while ago. The 3D seismic will improve on existing knowledge gleaned from 2D work, and ought to give greater certainty about what’s really on offer at Upepo. Rift's current independent prospective resource estimate includes a mid-case (P50) estimate of approximately 19 billion cubic feet of helium and a mean estimate of approximately 41bcf. That’s plenty to be going on with, but the real excitement will come with drilling, due now within nine months.