Buru Energy eyes SA natural hydrogen play

Buru Energy’s wholly owned, natural hydrogen-focussed subsidiary 2H Resources could soon evaluate a roughly 30,000 square kilometre ground position in South Australia after an independent assessment by RISC Advisory deemed the zone prospective for a best estimate resource of 343 million kilograms of hydrogen.

The area covers six South Australian petroleum exploration licences or “PELs” and the company was recently advised by the South Australian Department for Energy and Mining that it was picked as the preferred applicant for the tenure. In addition, 2H Resources has also been informed it is the favoured candidate for a pair of gas storage exploration licences or “GSELs” covering approximately 5705 square kilometres.

The company says the sites are geologically on trend with historical natural hydrogen discoveries within Adelaide’s Geosyncline in South Australia and could host vast quantities of naturally occurring gas – a notion seemingly corroborated by RISC Advisory’s recent evaluation.

The granting of the six PELs and two GSELs is subject to the company reaching an agreement with the area’s relevant native title holders. 2H Resource’s management has already kicked off discussions with these parties.

Natural hydrogen is a relatively new discovery and differs from traditional hydrogen in that it doesn’t require processing to be used as a fuel. Buru, through its wholly owned subsidiary, says that due to the commodity being void of any production processes it has the potential to be a more economical power source compared to industrial hydrogen.

The company boasts an armoury of inhouse technology that allows it to sniff out anomalous concentrations of hydrogen in exploratory wells and has also used its process to identify hydrogen in several legacy bores in Australia along with leaks and flow accumulation in other countries.

Buru Energy CEO Thomas Nador said:“We are in the value creation phase of resource development and are following a structured path to mature a highly prospective hydrogen exploration play in South Australia. Our initial hydrogen Prospective Resource assessment by RISC places the size of the opportunity in context and provides further impetus for us to be part of South Australia’s rich history of developing clean energy industries, whilst generating value for our shareholders and the communities where we operate.”

Hydrogen is gaining momentum as an energy source that could be one of the best routes to diminishing the effects of climate change. Given the notion and Buru’s activity in the space the workstream could position the firm and its 2H Resources subsidiary at the front of a chasing pack.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au