Noble Helium Mobilises Rig for Tanzania Helium Hunt Targeting Up to 225 Bcf
Key Takeaways
- Noble Helium has instructed BoreXpert to mobilise the Schramm T130 XD rig from Kenya to the Kinambo-1 well site in Tanzania, with rig arrival expected in the last week of September 2026 and spud anticipated in early October 2026.
- The western margin of the 100% owned North Rukwa Project carries prospective helium volumes of 118 Bcf on a best case basis and 225.5 Bcf on a mean case basis, as disclosed in Noble Helium's 28 July 2025 ASX announcement.
- SLB has been contracted for logging, sampling, and data collection services, with their testing spread confirmed to mobilise to site coinciding with rig arrival — ensuring industry-standard resource validation methods are applied.
- Kinambo-1 is planned to drill to a vertical total depth of 1,750m in approximately 24 days, with results designed to allow extrapolation across to the much larger eastern margin targeted for drilling in 2027.
- All long lead items are in country, site preparation and accommodation works are certified complete, and personnel and materials movement from Dar es Salaam to site is commencing shortly.
Kinambo drilling campaign kicks off as rig mobilised to site
Noble Helium (ASX: NHE) has instructed drilling contractor BoreXpert to mobilise the Schramm T130 XD rig from Kenya to the Kinambo-1 well site in Tanzania, marking the formal start of the company’s 2026 helium exploration drilling campaign. The rig is expected to arrive at the Kinambo site in the last week of September, with the Kinambo-1 well anticipated to spud in early October 2026.
Site preparation is already done. All road, site preparation and accommodation works at Kinambo have been safely completed and certified, and the company will shortly commence moving personnel and materials from Dar es Salaam to site.
The campaign targets the western margin of Noble Helium’s 100% owned North Rukwa Project in Tanzania, with prospective helium volumes that management has described as potentially company-transforming.
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Key milestones stacking up ahead of first drill
The campaign has a clear readiness checklist already largely completed:
- Schramm T130 XD rig mobilised from Kenya, requiring five truck and trailer loads to travel approximately 1,500 km to the Kinambo site
- SLB contract signed for the provision of logging, key sampling and data collection services
- SLB testing spread confirmed to mobilise to site to coincide with rig arrival
- All Long Lead Items arrived in country
- Personnel and materials movement from Dar es Salaam to site commencing shortly
- Kinambo-1 anticipated spud: early October 2026, estimated to take approximately 24 days to drill to its planned vertical total depth of 1,750m, followed by downhole logging operations
The rig selection itself carries an operational rationale worth noting. The Schramm T130 XD requires significantly less equipment to be mobilised compared to alternatives, resulting in a lower number of planned truck movements — a practical logistics efficiency with cost and scheduling implications for a remote Tanzanian site.
What’s at stake — understanding Noble Helium’s prospective helium resource
Prospective Helium Volumes are an estimate of the potential quantity of helium that may exist in a geological structure, assessed before drilling confirms whether that helium is actually present in commercial quantities. They are inherently speculative but are calculated using geological data and modelling, and serve as the primary measure of upside for exploration-stage helium companies.
For Kinambo-1, the stakes are significant. The western margin of the North Rukwa Project has prospective helium volumes assessed at 118 Bcf on a best case basis and 225.5 Bcf on a mean case basis, as disclosed in Noble Helium’s ASX announcement of 28 July 2025.
The campaign’s design also extends beyond the western margin alone. The deeper planned depths for Kinambo-1 and Kinambo-2, combined with SLB’s testing programme, are intended to give the company an excellent chance of extrapolating results across to the much larger eastern margin, which the company hopes to drill next year.
SLB’s involvement addresses a specific technical requirement. Correct logging, sampling and data collection tools are critical to validating a prospective helium resource, and the SLB contract ensures industry-standard methods are applied throughout.
The broader demand context reinforces why this matters. Helium is essential for medical diagnostics, scientific research, space exploration and is in growing demand as supercomputers and data centres underpin the rapid deployment of AI and nuclear fusion. Supply is fragile and geographically concentrated — a large-scale, geopolitically independent source from Tanzania’s East African Rift System would address a genuine market gap.
Dennis Donald, Executive Chairman, Noble Helium Limited
“Mobilisation of the Schramm T130 XD rig is an important milestone for Noble Helium in advancing the Company’s North Rukwa Project. We’re excited to get this potentially company-transforming exploration campaign underway.
“One of our primary objectives is to unlock the potential of the western margin’s Prospective Helium Volumes, currently assessed as 118 Bcf on a best case basis and 225.5 Bcf on a mean case basis. It is crucial that the correct logging, sampling and data collection tools are used to validate the Company’s potential resource. With the advent of the SLB contract this is now the case.
“Importantly, the deeper planned depths for Kinambo-1 and Kinambo-2 combined with the appointment of SLB to undertake the testing program gives us an excellent chance of extrapolating results across to the much larger eastern margin, which we hope to drill next year.”
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What investors should watch from here
The forward catalyst timeline is clear and near-term, with several binary decision points compressed into the next few months.
| Milestone | Expected Timing | Significance | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rig arrives at Kinambo site | Last week of September 2026 | Confirms operational commencement | In progress |
| SLB testing spread on site | Coincides with rig arrival | Industry-grade data collection confirmed | Confirmed |
| Kinambo-1 spud | Early October 2026 | Drilling formally begins | Anticipated |
| Kinambo-1 total depth reached | ~24 days post-spud | Results from 1,750m depth | Upcoming |
| Downhole logging operations | Post-drilling | Resource validation data | Upcoming |
| Eastern margin drilling | 2027 (indicated) | Larger target; extrapolation from Kinambo results | Forward plan |
A successful Kinambo-1 result carries implications well beyond the western margin. The data gathered here is designed to allow Noble Helium to extrapolate findings across to the much larger eastern margin, making this a binary-style catalyst for the broader North Rukwa investment case.
The company’s capital position has also been recently addressed, with the Noble Helium loan restructuring and $2.15 million capital securing providing a cleaner balance sheet heading into this exploration campaign.
The project’s positioning along Tanzania’s East African Rift System also gives it a strategic dimension. As a geopolitically independent helium source in a region with established rift geology, a positive drilling outcome would represent meaningful progress towards addressing global helium supply fragility — a gap that demand from AI infrastructure and nuclear fusion is actively widening.
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