Rift Helium (AIM:RIFT) announced that it has started 3D seismic data acquisition at its Upepo Project in Tanzania's Rukwa Basin, and has expanded the survey's coverage by approximately 83% versus the area envisaged at its April IPO, for an 18% increase in the survey budget.
The AIM-listed primary helium explorer is now targeting approximately 90 square kilometres of 3D coverage across priority areas at Upepo, rather than conducting a smaller survey, saying the wider footprint will give it a more comprehensive view of subsurface structures and improve the ranking of drilling targets before capital is committed to wells.
Rift raised roughly £8.1 million at its April admission to fund the seismic and drilling campaign, and reported £6.77 million in cash with no borrowings at 30 June.
The new survey builds on existing 2D seismic data that identified five exploration leads, mostly on the eastern licence PL12093/2022, and will map the size, shape and fault boundaries of subsurface structures in greater detail to assess where helium may be trapped.
"The Rukwa Basin has already demonstrated a working helium system," said chief executive Charles FitzRoy. "The critical question for Rift is where helium may have been trapped in commercially meaningful volumes... We have made a deliberate decision to invest more in seismic because we believe the additional geological understanding will improve the quality of our drilling decisions."
Acquisition followed receipt of an Environmental Impact Assessment certificate in September, which covers both the 3D seismic survey and drilling of up to three exploration wells, and the subsequent mobilisation of seismic contractors.
Read more about Rift Helium
- 16/09/26Rift Helium moves to field execution as seismic mobilisation begins
- 10/09/26Rift Helium mobilises 3D seismic survey at Upepo
- 02/09/26Rift Helium clears EIA hurdle for seismic and drilling
Receiver-node deployment began on 9 November, with the field camp operational and Rift's chief operating officer on site overseeing the work alongside continuing crew training.
The resulting data will feed into an updated independent resource assessment targeted for the first quarter of 2027, building on Rift's current mid-case estimate of approximately 19 billion cubic feet of helium and a mean basis estimate of 41 billion cubic feet.
Rift said the seismic survey alone cannot confirm a commercial helium accumulation, and that exploration drilling will be needed to test the ranked targets.
The company reiterated that its timetable is unchanged, with a two-well exploration drilling campaign still planned to begin in the first half of 2027.