Investor Perception
First Helium’s scalable growth technique, differentiated by a multi-commodity strategy and supported by a well-defined venture roadmap, positions it as a possible chief in helium manufacturing inside North America.
Overview
First Helium (TSXV:HELI,OTCQB:FHELF,FRA:2MC) is a Canadian firm specializing in exploring and growing helium sources in Alberta, Canada. The corporate’s major asset is the Worsley venture, which spans 53,000 acres and contains each helium-enriched pure gasoline, oil and different pure sources. First Helium has made important progress with a number of discoveries, together with a helium discovery effectively and profitable oil wells. The corporate goals to develop its manufacturing and money stream by means of ongoing exploration and drilling actions.
First Helium is poised for substantial development within the coming years, with the scalability of the Worsley venture offering a path to important will increase in manufacturing and income. The corporate has set bold monetary objectives, focusing on over $100 million in annual income inside the subsequent three to 5 years. Based mostly on present projections, vertical drilling alone might generate over $100 million in annual income, with money stream estimated to succeed in $70 million yearly.
Helium, a essential and scarce useful resource, is indispensable in numerous high-tech industries, together with semiconductor manufacturing, synthetic intelligence, area exploration, protection and healthcare. Helium’s demand is projected to develop 300 % by 2030, pushed by its irreplaceable position in industries that require precision, cooling and inert properties. Main firms like Google, Amazon, SpaceX, NVIDIA and Intel depend on helium for his or her operations. The worldwide helium market, valued at $3.94 billion in 2021, is predicted to develop to $13.26 billion by 2030.
Nonetheless, the availability of helium is underneath strain as a consequence of geopolitical uncertainties and manufacturing limitations from main world suppliers, together with Qatar, Algeria and Russia. Moreover, the US, at the moment the biggest producer of helium, is predicted to change into a internet importer inside the subsequent three to 5 years. This shift opens important alternatives for Canada, which is the fifth-largest world useful resource of helium however contributes lower than 2 % of the world’s annual manufacturing. The Canadian authorities has additionally categorised helium as a essential mineral, underscoring its strategic significance within the transition to a sustainable future.
This world dynamic is creating alternatives for helium explorers corresponding to First Helium to leverage a rising market. Led by an skilled administration and technical staff with profitable monitor data within the oil and gasoline, mining and vitality sectors, First Helium is well-placed for important development.
First Helium’s long-term imaginative and prescient is to determine a regional helium-enriched pure gasoline and oil play in Alberta, with the Worsley venture serving as a template for future developments. The corporate is actively evaluating potential partnerships and acquisition alternatives to speed up the event of its belongings and capitalize on the rising demand for helium throughout North America and globally.
Firm Highlights
- Helium is a essential mineral with regular development in demand. Main firms like Google, Amazon, SpaceX, Samsung, NVIDIA and Intel depend on it.
- Helium costs have elevated by over 50 % within the final three years and the market is predicted to develop 300 % by 2030.
- First Helium’s indicative money netbacks are three to 4 occasions greater than typical Canadian pure gasoline producers.
- First Helium gives publicity to helium, pure gasoline and oil income streams, which diversifies threat and will increase worth.
Key Challenge
Worsley Helium Challenge
The corporate’s one hundred pc owned flagship Worsley venture, spans 53,000 acres (roughly 83 sq. miles) in a multi-commodity area of Alberta. The venture is situated in a traditionally productive space that has yielded over 315 billion cubic toes (Bcf) of pure gasoline and 17 million barrels of oil. The Worsley venture is distinguished by its important helium sources and multi-zone drilling potential for helium, pure gasoline and oil. Worsley space has produced over 1 Bcf of helium, which was not recovered in earlier pure gasoline operations, highlighting the untapped potential of the area for helium extraction. Particularly, the deeper Leduc formation to the japanese a part of the land base stays largely unexplored as a consequence of greater nitrogen concentrations within the pure gasoline useful resource, which made the product unacceptable to the native gasoline pipeline transportation firm, and discouraged additional drilling by historic pure gasoline firms. This spells large exploration alternative for First Helium, as in the present day’s helium processing gear can separate helium, pure gasoline and nitrogen, leading to marketable helium and pure gasoline.
First Helium’s vertical helium discovery effectively, 15-25, is able to be introduced into manufacturing and is predicted to supply a gradual stream of helium and pure gasoline provide. Moreover, the corporate has recognized 12 follow-up vertical drilling targets, and a big structural alternative primarily based on proprietary 3D seismic information, which positions the venture for important scalability.
First Helium has secured a 10-year “take-or-pay” helium offtake settlement with a serious world industrial gasoline provide firm, which might assist sturdy and predictable money stream. The settlement covers as much as 80 % of helium manufacturing from the Worsley venture’s 15-25 effectively, with the potential to buy one hundred pc of manufacturing relying on the tempo of development. The settlement additionally gives First Helium with flexibility, permitting the corporate to market as much as 20 % of helium manufacturing on a probably extra profitable “spot” gross sales or service provider liquefaction foundation.
The Worsley venture space advantages from an present pure gasoline gathering infrastructure, expediting the timeline to convey helium to market. First Helium expects the primary manufacturing to start within the fourth quarter of 2025, positioning it to change into a key provider within the rising North American helium market.
Worsley venture indicative economics
The useful resource base of the Worsley venture is important. The venture includes one confirmed, undeveloped oil location with reserves of roughly 200,000 barrels of oil (as verified by third-party reserve engineers) and one pure gasoline/helium effectively. The unrisked, greatest estimate of contingent sources for this effectively contains just below 13 Bcf of pure gasoline and over 300 million cubic toes (MMcf) of helium. These reserves present a steady basis for the corporate’s development, with the pure gasoline/helium manufacturing providing substantial financial upside because of the high-value nature of helium. Helium costs have elevated by greater than 50 % over the previous three years, with world import costs rising from roughly $US 310 per thousand cubic toes (Mcf) in January 2020 to over $US 476 per Mcf by November 2023. This value development, mixed with helium’s essential functions, underpins the sturdy economics of First Helium’s Worsley venture.
The corporate’s operations deal with two key formations inside the Worsley venture space. The Leduc formation, identified for its helium-enriched pure gasoline and light-weight oil, gives substantial manufacturing potential. The Blue Ridge formation is one other high-margin, helium-enriched premium pure gasoline play that provides additional worth. The corporate has drilled three wells within the space, reaching one hundred pc drilling success on two oil wells, which have collectively generated roughly $13 million in income. These outcomes spotlight the resource-rich nature of the Worsley venture and reveal First Helium’s functionality to ship constant drilling success and income era. The third effectively, drilled horizontally into the Blue Ridge formation, was cased, and is prepared for completion and testing. If profitable, it is going to set up a regional, repeatable, helium-enriched pure gasoline play.
The corporate has recognized 12 extremely potential places for added drilling within the Leduc formation, and the profitable testing of its horizontal effectively (5-27) is predicted so as to add over 30 follow-up horizontal drill places within the Blue Ridge formation at West Worsley, additional enhancing the size of the venture.
Processing plant
Along with proving up further helium useful resource, the corporate can be exploring financing choices for the development of a helium processing plant, which might additional improve its manufacturing capabilities. The completion of this facility is predicted to generate $3 to $5 million in annual project-level money stream from the only 15-25 effectively alone, setting the stage for future development and enlargement.
Administration Crew
Ed Bereznicki – President, CEO and Director
Ed Bereznicki is a extremely skilled vitality sector government with greater than 25 years in company finance, capital markets, and M&A, focusing notably on oil and gasoline exploration and manufacturing. He spent 15 years as a senior funding banker with corporations corresponding to Raymond James and GMP Securities, the place he raised over $20 billion in fairness and convertible debt for vitality sector tasks. His management roles prolong to start-up vitality ventures, the place he has guided firms by means of IPOs, mergers and acquisitions. He has additionally dealt with threat administration, pipeline operations, and worldwide tasks, making him an knowledgeable in main large-scale vitality and pure useful resource firms. His broad expertise throughout monetary and operational domains has contributed considerably to his capacity to handle advanced company development initiatives within the helium sector.
Robert J. Scott – CFO and Director
Robert Scott is a chartered skilled accountant and a chartered monetary analyst with over 20 years {of professional} expertise in monetary administration, company compliance, and strategic enterprise planning. He has held senior administration and board positions at a number of TSX-V listed firms, the place he was instrumental in elevating greater than $200 million in fairness capital for growth-stage firms. His in depth experience covers IPOs, reverse takeovers, mergers and company restructuring. Along with company finance, he has in-depth expertise in service provider and industrial banking, which has bolstered his functionality to information firms by means of advanced monetary environments, particularly within the pure useful resource sector.
Shaun Wyzykoski – Vice-president, Engineering
Shaun Wyzykoski brings 25 years of expertise within the Canadian oil and gasoline trade, specializing in engineering, operations, acquisitions, and divestitures. He has held senior roles at a number of main vitality firms, together with chief working officer of Orlen Upstream Canada, and senior engineering positions at Fairmount Power and TriOil Sources. He was additionally a part of the founding engineering group at Crescent Level Power, one in all Canada’s main oil and gasoline producers. Wyzykoski’s experience contains designing and executing advanced operational methods to main acquisition efforts and integrating new applied sciences into exploration and manufacturing actions. His deep operational information helps him drive effectivity and innovation at First Helium.
Marc Junghans – Geology and Asset Improvement Advisor
Marc Junghans is a seasoned geologist with greater than 40 years of expertise within the oil and gasoline sector, specializing in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and U.S. markets. He co-founded and efficiently bought two private-equity-backed junior oil and gasoline firms, the place he served as vice-president of exploration. At Compton Petroleum, he helped develop manufacturing from 2,500 barrels of oil equal per day (boed) to 34,000 boed, main exploration efforts that considerably enhanced the corporate’s worth. He has held senior geological positions at main corporations corresponding to Husky Oil, Anderson Exploration, Canterra Power, and Tundra Oil & Fuel. Junghans has drilled over 170 horizontal wells throughout Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, bringing invaluable technical experience to First Helium’s asset growth technique.
