HELENA: Helix Exploration PLC has entered into an agreement to acquire Treasure State Drilling LLC, a Montana-based drilling company, for $600,000 in an all-share transaction, the company announced Monday.
The acquisition gives Helix full ownership of the drilling rig that has drilled all of the company’s existing production wells at its Rudyard Helium Project in northern Montana. The consideration represents a 37% discount to an independent equipment appraisal of $955,900 conducted by Enneberg Excavation LLC, a qualified engineering firm with more than 22 years of Montana oilfield operations experience.
No cash consideration is being paid. The $600,000 will be satisfied entirely through the issuance of new ordinary shares in Helix, a statement noted.
The rig, a Cardwell KB-150 rated to 8,000 feet depth, is already positioned at the Rudyard site, eliminating mobilization and demobilization costs for the next well. The acquisition also removes contract day rates on all future drilling at Rudyard, delivering a direct and material reduction in per-well drilling costs, according to the company.
“Owning our rig is a game-changer for Helix,” said Bo Sears, chief executive officer of Helix Exploration. “Every well we drill from this point forward will be drilled without a day rate invoice and without a mobilization bill. Those are real costs that every E&P operator in our position absorbs on every well — and we have just eliminated them. Permanently.”
The rig package includes an 800 HP Emsco mud pump, dual generator sets providing more than 1,300 kW of on-site power generation, and more than 22,000 feet of drill pipe inventory across multiple string sizes.
Helix intends to evaluate opportunities for Treasure State Drilling to undertake third-party contract drilling work when the rig is not required for the company’s own drilling program. No third-party drilling contracts have been entered into, and no revenue from third-party activity should be assumed at this stage, the company said.
To the board’s knowledge, the rig is the only drilling unit currently available in north-central Montana, a region characterized by numerous oil and gas prospects and a growing operator base.
Completion of the acquisition is subject to standard conditions, including the sellers settling existing liabilities owed by Treasure State Drilling.
