Rig contract executed - drilling in sight

This morning our oil and gas exploration Investment 88 Energy (ASX: 88E) signed a rig contract for its Hickory-1 well in Alaska, USA.

88E’s drilling program will target six key reservoir targets chasing a 647 million barrel unrisked prospective resource (net to 88E), right next to $1.1BN London-listed Pantheon Resources.

88E expects drilling to start in late February/early March 2023.

The Hickory-1 well sits immediately to the south of Pantheon, which is currently drilling its first ever horizontal well aiming to produce a commercially viable flow rate for its project.

Pantheon has been active in this region since 2019, successfully drilling three out of three wells.

Over that period, Pantheon’s market cap has gone from ~$60M to now sit at $1.1BN.

We touched on this in our last 88E note which you can read here: 88E is Moving East to Chase Success

Interestingly, Pantheon’s drilling success comes from the same reservoir targets that are independently assessed to extend south into 88E’s ground — where the Hickory-1 well will be drilling.

We hope 88E makes a discovery with similar potential to the well drilled by Pantheon.