Avanti Energy acquires 63K acres of helium exploration permits in Saskatchewan
by CM Staff
All of the lands have had historically shallow oil and gas activity on or adjacent to them.
CALGARY — The government of Saskatchewan has awarded three helium exploration permits to Avanti Energy Inc., allowing the company access to 63,000 acres for exploration.
The company anticipates that this acquisition will complement its existing holdings outside of Alberta and Montanna. The acquisition is also in line with the company’s goal to develop a diversified portfolio of helium assets.
According to Avanti’s announcement, all of the lands have had historically shallow oil and gas activity on or adjacent to them. The company believes any future operations should benefit from existing access and infrastructure.
Avanti has also applied for several additional exploration permits in SW Saskatchewan that are still awaiting regulatory approval.
“With the permits in hand, the team can now start looking at acquiring seismic data, fine tune our geological mapping and put an exploration plan in motion,” said Genga Nadaraju, VP Subsurface in a statement.
“Adding a complementary asset to our portfolio of high impact helium projects positions Avanti with the potential of providing an irreplaceable resource across geographic areas which is critical for applications such as semiconductor chip manufacturing, aerospace, MRI scanning, optical fibre manufacturing and nuclear power generation.”
The targeted zones for helium in Saskatchewan are similar to the company’s landholdings in the Greater Knappen area, focused on the Cambrian and the Devonian reservoirs containing mainly nitrogen with up to 2 per cent helium.
