Whitebark Energy has fired the starting gun on what could be a huge energy play after finalising a preliminary well design and rig market assessment for its monster Alinya project in South Australia’s remote Officer Basin.
A detailed engineering study conducted by global energy consultancy Zenith Energy has wrapped up, giving the company a green light to drill its first deep drill hole into its particularly large Rickerscote target. The prospect is a behemoth sub-salt structure spanning more than 180 square kilometres and potentially up to 400 square kilometres.
A new independent report has finalised design and modest costings for a deep exploration well to be drilled at its massive Rickerscote hydrogen, helium and natural gas target in South Australia’s remote Officer Basin, possibly by the end of the year.
According to the report, the well will need to be drilled to a total depth of 2400 metres and has been priced at a surprisingly modest cost of $7.7 million. For a project of this magnitude, with multiple stacked reservoir targets in play, the estimated price tag is a game-changer and well below industry norms, Whitebark says.
Rickerscote is one of the biggest seismically defined onshore structures in Australia, and has headline-grabbing potential to host helium, hydrogen and hydrocarbon resources. However, it is completely undrilled.
‘These recent studies demonstrate the low-cost exploration opportunities which are available to Whitebark in its Officer Basin assets.’
Whitebark Energy executive director Richard King
The company picked up two further targets in the structural depth mapping. Milford and Milford East, directly to the east of Rickerscote, span an impressive 230 square kilometres and 160 square kilometres, respectively.
The company says the sheer size of the three prospects combined is comparable to the surface area of other giant Australian fields, such as Barrow Island, Gorgon and Kingfish, which collectively hold as much as 3.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
Armed with the new report, Whitebark has put out the feelers on rig availability and received multiple responses from contractors confirming open slots for 2026. The response prompted it to move quickly and line up all the pieces required to kick off drilling in the second half of next year, pending approvals.
Whitebark Energy executive director Richard King said: “These recent studies demonstrate the low-cost exploration opportunities which are available to Whitebark in its Officer Basin assets. It positions Whitebark to be a leading hydrogen and helium explorer in Australia, while also being positioned to deliver potential new sources of gas supply for Australia’s energy security.”
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