PFE: New report on Smackover lithium projects
Yesterday we noticed a new report on Smackover lithium projects in Arkansas, USA - where our USA lithium Investment Pantera Lithium (ASX: PFE) sits.
(Source)
One of the key takeaways from the report was that ExxonMobil had won a regulatory battle with another massive oil and gas company Occidental Petroleum.
ExxonMobil's subsidiary, Saltwerx LLC, has been granted the right to develop a 56,000-acre lithium production unit in Arkansas's Smackover Formation.
The report also notes that the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the Smackover Formation could contain up to 19 million tonnes of lithium.
This amount is potentially sufficient to meet the projected global electric vehicle battery demand through 2030 nine times over.
Remarkably, PFE is the only ASX listed lithium exposure with a project in the Smackover in Arkansas, USA.
At the start of April, PFE released a plan to drill three wells across six potentially “lithium rich” targets with the goal to definitively show that PFE does indeed have some of the best Smackover ground.
(of course actually drilling will be the only way to do this)
Exxon has already drilled a well right next door to PFE’s ground - a good signal PFE’s ground might be in the sweet spot of the Smackover.
As you can see on the map higher up, PFE is effectively being surrounded by ExxonMobil and others.
All up, we think that given the calibre of players already in the Smackover, and new tax incentives being mooted by the Arkansas legislature, PFE could attract potential interest from a funding partner to drill those wells…
That’s correct - PFE is about to commence discussions with strategic partners, and Arkansas could soon have important sales tax incentives in place for large projects in the state.
Read our latest note on PFE below:
What’s next for PFE?
🔄Update on strategic partners
We want to see PFE engage with a strategic partner to help realise the value of its Smackover ground, given these discussions are about to commence.
Beyond that, here is what PFE has recently signalled as the next major milestones for the company.
The following slide was from PFE’s most recent investor presentation which you can check out here.
(Source)
- 🔄Continued acreage growth (Q1 - Q2 2025)
- 🔲 Drilling initial stand alone well/s (Q3 - Q4 2025)
- 🔲 DLE (Direct Lithium Extraction) Testing (Q3 - Q4 2025)
- 🔲 Maiden JORC lithium resource (Q3 - Q4 2025)
