88E’s neighbour $1.5BN Pantheon Resources to kick off flow tests
Yesterday we noticed an announcement from 88 Energy’s (ASX: 88E) Alaskan neighbour A$1.5BN capped Pantheon Resources which we think could be pretty important for 88E.
Pantheon announced that it would be flow testing its Megrez-1 well with the flow test to start at the end of March and run for ~4 months.
The reason we think the news is important for 88E… is because Megrez-1 was the well that triggered an almost 300% run in Pantheon’s share price.
Pantheon started drilling that well in November last year and then announced a discovery in early December.
The lead up to and the results from drilling took Pantheon’s share price from ~20GBX to ~64GBX.
That’s a pretty big run considering Pantheon’s market cap now sits at ~A$1.5BN.
(Keep in mind, 88E’s market cap is just $29M based on yesterday’s close price of 0.1c per share, and it holds ground next door to Pantheon).
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What did Pantheon announce yesterday?
Pantheon announced that:
- It would begin flow testing Megrez-1 at the end of March.
- The flow test would run for ~four months AND
- That the company expected flow rates of 200-2,000 barrels per day from each reservoir zone being tested.
(Source)
So we could get a big flow rate announcement from Pantheon somewhere between April and July this year.
Our view is that any good news for Pantheon will bring market interest back into 88E who holds the ground immediately to the south…
AND it would come at a good time with Trump in office and the US oil and gas sector up and about…
For context - Trump in his first week in office signed an executive order which was called Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential.
This order lifted many of the restrictions on exploration for mineral resources and oil & gas in the state which is good for 88E and especially good for Burgundy who are trying to raise capital to pay for the farm-in deal.
(Source)
What’s next for 88E?
🔄 Project Phoenix - appraisal well planning
This is 88E’s project right next door to Pantheon.
88E just a few weeks ago signed a two phased farm-out deal with its JV partner who at the end of the deal would hold 75% of the project and 88E would be free-carried for a 25% interest in the project.
The deal is structured as follows:
- Phase 1 (65% ownership) - Burgundy to pay for ~A$33M of 88E’s share in budgeted CY25/26 costs. This includes lease costs, drilling a horizontal well and flow testing on the project.
- Phase 2 (75% ownership) - Burgundy to pay for another ~A$11.6M in costs (drilling another well or alternative capital programme) after which they will own 75% of the project and 88E 25%.
With Pantheon’s share price running and Trump in office, we are looking forward to seeing what happens here, especially with 88E free carried on the project under the farm-out agreement.
🔄 Project Leonis - drill planning and farm out progress
This is 88E’s other Alaskan asset that it wants to be drilling in Q1-2026.
88E has previously confirmed that “planning and permitting for the tiri-1 exploration well” would start and that “Llamas and Bannister Energy Advisors” would work on finding a farm-out partner for this project.
🔄 Maiden prospective resource estimate for Namibian Asset (H1 2025)
88E is currently farming into an onshore exploration block in Namibia, neighbouring ~$160M capped TSX listed Recon Africa.
88E recently finished 2D seismic on its project and mapped ~10 independent structures with some of them individually covering ~100km^2 of ground.
The next major catalyst for this project is a maiden prospective resource estimate, expected inside the next two quarters ahead of a drill program planned for 2026.
