Avanti Energy, a Vancouver-based company, announced this Monday it has initiated its drilling operations at its properties in Northern Montana; known as the Greater Knappen. The properties ate 100% owned by the company after it acquired them in mid-2021.
As we reported earlier this year, the company acquired around 12,000 acres of land in Montana. The company filed the Letter of Intent to purchase the lands in April. Then, in July, it expanded the acquisitions to 15 more sections.
By July, the company had closed the acquisitions totaling up to 69,000 acres of land; highly prospective for helium. The company is 100% owner and operator of the properties. Indeed, the company is expanding its helium acquisition in the US and Canada, as it intends to create a solid supply chain for the gas.
Moreover, when Avanti Energy closed the acquisition on the land, it said drilling activities would immediately follow. Now, the company confirms it is finalizing surveys before starting its initial drilling program.
The company details on its statement that the properties include ten closed structural highs, exhibiting relief of 70m to 200m, that are ideal for trapping helium. The helium would be trapped in the Devonian and Cambrian zones, with percentages of up to 2% helium and 96% nitrogen.
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Avanti Energy creating and industry-leading helium portfolio
Specifically, to the lands in Montana about to be drilled, Avanti Energy’s CEO said. “Management’s technical interpretation of just 7 of the 10 structures suggest an estimated un-risked and undiscovered resource potential of between 1.4 and 8.9 billion cubic feet of recoverable helium.”
Other lands surrounding the Montana properties also feature those characteristics. Especially ones in Saskatchewan, adjacent to Montana, which will play a pivotal role in the company’s helium expansion strategy.
Furthermore, Avanti says the first drilling could happen in early December. Avanti will drill at first three separate pay zones; two in the Beaverhill Lake formation and one in the Basal Sandstone formation.
In the meantime, the company will continue to evaluate multiple opportunities across Western Canada and the United States to build an industry-leading helium portfolio. Finally, about the start of the drilling program, Baker said. “Avanti has made significant strides on the technical assessment of Greater Knappen, and we now are in the critical stage of development to fully unlock the potential of this property.”
