Soil tests lift Whitebark Energy SA gas, hydrogen and helium gas play

Whitebark Energy’s helicopter-supported placement of soil gas sensors in its Rickerscote prospect in the Officer Basin, South Australia.

A soil gas survey conducted by Whitebark Energy (ASX: WBE) at the company’s exciting Rickerscote onshore energy prospect in South Australia’s Officer Basin has detected elevated micro-seepage of all three gases.

Rickerscote is a massive, undrilled clean energy play. It has been identified as a world-class potential source of natural white hydrogen, helium, and hydrocarbons.

The prospect forms part of Whitebark’s vast 20,000-square-kilometre Alinya project and is a big sub-salt closure structure covering more than 180 square kilometres. The prospect was first identified in the 1960’s from multiple aeromagnetic, gravity and seismic surveys. Rickerscote

Using a network of ten sensors dotted across Rickerscote, hydrogen readings of 25–30 parts per million (ppm) were detected at two sites about 30 kilometres apart, book-ending the Rickerscote prospect from north to south.

Another sensor in the central part of the prospect sniffed out a methane reading of 5600ppm, which the company believes could have emanated from a brief geological gas pulse at depth. The reading then immediately subsided, suggesting a localised event such as methane release from decomposing organic matter.

When Whitebark tested a nearby water bore, traces of helium up to 11ppm was detected against a background reading of 1.6ppm, providing evidence of a possible helium catchment.

We are delighted with the successful completion of the soil gas survey over PELs 81 and 253. The results add to the growing body of evidence pointing to an active petroleum, natural hydrogen and helium system operating at Rickerscote and provide valuable data as we prepare for the next phase of exploration.

Whitebark Energy CEO Nik Sykiotis

Meanwhile, Whitebark has been busy preparing the groundwork for a future exploration. The company says the results of the latest soil tests, coupled with a recently posted independent study and earlier seismic work, will pinpoint the best location for its planned Rickerscote-1 well. It hopes to spud the well in the final quarter of 2026.

Sproule ERCE’s hydrocarbon study - commissioned by Whitebark - estimated that Rickerscote could be harbouring up to a massive 1.2 billion kilograms of natural hydrogen, a whopping 209 billion cubic feet of helium and up to 153 million barrels of oil equivalent in hydrocarbons.

Unlike green hydrogen, which is produced using renewable electricity or blue hydrogen - produced from natural gas with carbon capture - natural white hydrogen is formed by geological processes and can potentially be extracted directly from the ground with minimal processing and zero carbon emissions.

For Whitebark punters, the company’s strategic focus on the emerging natural hydrogen sector, combined with the sheer scale of the Rickerscote prospect, could present a potentially unique opportunity to gain exposure to a rapidly evolving energy landscape.

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