Prominence Energy targets June/July 2027 drilling for South Australian helium and hydrogen

Prominence Energy (ASX: PRM) says it is aiming to drill helium and natural hydrogen targets in South Australia in June or July 2027. The company's initial costing is about $5 million for three wells, or two wells plus seismic data. It says the targets are shallow.

What comes first

The company has set out a sequence of steps before drilling:

• An independent resource review of the Eyre Project, targeted for the end of August 2026. On 12 August the company said the review, by RISC Advisory, was underway.
• A review of the Northern Hinge Project, targeted for the end of September 2026.
• Updated drilling engineering and cost work in October.
• Detailed drilling program design in November and December.

The company says the $5 million figure is preliminary and the October work will refine it. The drilling window is a two-month range, not a fixed date.

Why it matters

The company holds an exploration portfolio of about 64,000 km² in South Australia. Its listed resource estimates relate to other assets and are mostly old. They include the Big Apple gas prospect (P50 prospective 1,370 bcf, 100% interest, stated November 2025) and a series of gas and oil prospects dating from 2007 to 2014. Several of those have undisclosed company interests. None of these figures covers the helium and hydrogen targets that the 2027 drilling would test. The independent reviews are meant to give a first view of the potential scale of those targets.

Recent work gives some support. Laboratory analysis of 63 soil gas samples found helium up to 63ppm and hydrogen up to 3,427ppm. A satellite study and a gravity and magnetic survey were also positive. The satellite study is remote sensing, not drilling evidence.

What is uncertain

Northern Hinge licences are not yet granted. The company's subsidiaries are ready to sign a Native Title agreement with the Arabana Aboriginal Corporation. That is a key step toward four applications covering 19,888.84 km², but the grant still needs signing and government approval.

Funding for drilling is also open. Existing cash covers the 2026 work, and the company has raised $1.56 million. It says it is considering a farm-out or strategic partnership to reduce its own spending on drilling. It has not said what terms it would accept or how the 2027 wells would be funded otherwise.

If the reviews and licensing go to plan, the 2027 wells would be the first to test these helium and hydrogen targets.