REG - 88 Energy Limited - South Prudhoe Augusta-1 Exploration Well Update

88 EnergyAnnouncement

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RNS Number : 0661F  88 Energy Limited  20 May 2026

 

This announcement contains inside information

 

20 May 2026

 

 

88 Energy Limited

 

SOUTH PRUDHOE AUGUSTA-1 exploration well TARGETS LARGE-SCALE STACKED RESOURCE

 

SOUTH PRUDHOE, NORTH SLOPE ALASKA

 

88 Energy Limited (ASX: 88E, AIM: 88E, OTC: EEENF) (88 Energy or the Company)
is pleased to provide an update on its recently consolidated South Prudhoe
acreage position on Alaska's North Slope (100% working interest, 16.7%
royalty). The South Prudhoe lease position covers approximately 52,269 acres
within one of the most prolific hydrocarbon fairways on the North Slope,
immediately south of the Prudhoe Bay Unit and Kuparuk River Unit.

The South Prudhoe Project presents a high‑impact, multi‑reservoir drilling
opportunity in one of Alaska's most prolific oil provinces. Augusta‑1
targets a 133.7 (MMbbls)(2,3) (2U, Gross unrisked) stacked resource adjacent
to major producing fields, supported by extensive regional data and
infrastructure.

 

Highlights

·    Augusta‑1 remains firmly on track for the planned Q1 2027 spud 1 ,
with significant advancements including finalised drilling location,
progressed permitting, road and facility access, logistics, planning and
securing long-lead items including contracting of Nordic-3 drilling rig and
Nabors 58-man camp.

·    Augusta Prospect defined across multiple stacked reservoirs, including
Ivishak, Kuparuk and Brookian targets, offering multiple potential pay zones
within a single exploration well.

·     Augusta-1 well designed to test up to 133.7 MMbbls 2 (, 3 ) of 2U
gross unrisked Prospective Resources (111.4 MMbbls net to 88E), across the
three reservoir intervals.

·   Ivishak and Kuparuk are proven and producing reservoirs, supported by
extensive regional production history, and within Augusta have direct
analogues to the Prudhoe Bay Unit and Kuparuk River Unit fields.

·     Farm-out discussion progressing, with multiple parties actively
engaged in the data room.

 

 

Priority Augusta-1 Drilling Target

A High‑Impact, Multi‑Reservoir Opportunity

The Augusta Prospect represents 88 Energy's highest‑priority drilling target
within the South Prudhoe Project and a material, multi‑zone exploration
opportunity on Alaska's North Slope. The prospect is defined across stacked
Ivishak, Kuparuk and Upper Schrader Bluff (Brookian) reservoir intervals,
offering the potential for multiple independent pay zones within a single
well.

Augusta-1 is designed to test up to 133.7 MMbbls of 2U gross unrisked
Prospective Resources (111.4 MMbbls net to 88E) 4 (, 5 ), providing exposure
to a substantial, development‑scale oil resource across multiple reservoirs.

Primary Target Reservoir Intervals:

·      Ivishak: 57.5 MMbbls (gross unrisked, 2U), 47.9 MMbbls net to
88E(4,5); and

·      Kuparuk: 23.5 MMbbls (gross unrisked, 2U), 19.6 MMbbls net to
88E(4,5.)

Secondary Reservoir Objective:

·      USB (M and N sands): 52.7 MMbbls (gross unrisked, 2U), 43.9
MMbbls net to 88E(4,5)

The Ivishak and Kuparuk reservoirs are proven, high‑quality producing
intervals across the North Slope, with extensive regional production history,
nearby well control and direct analogues to the Prudhoe Bay Unit and Kuparuk
River Unit. These reservoirs form the core technical focus of the Augusta‑1
well, while the Brookian interval provides meaningful additional upside within
the North‑West Hub.

Transformational Significance

A successful Augusta‑1 well would represent the first direct assessment of
the Company's priority South Prudhoe reservoir fairways and has the potential
to materially de‑risk a large, stacked oil system adjacent to established
production and infrastructure. Success could transform the scale and value of
the South Prudhoe Project, underpin future appraisal activity and materially
enhance 88 Energy's strategic and commercial positioning on the North Slope.

 

 

 

 

 

Advancement and Operational Readiness

Operational readiness activities have advanced over several key workstreams
required to drill the Augusta-1 exploration well during the Q1 2027 Alaskan
winter drilling season.

The Company has secured Nordic-Calista Rig-3 and is in the process of securing
access agreements with the Operators of the Kuparuk River Unit (KRU) and
Prudhoe Bay Unit (PBU) to utilise the existing road and facility
infrastructure. Gaining road and facility access provides a material execution
advantage by reducing new ice-road requirements, lowering logistics complexity
and improving schedule certainty and duration.

Ice-road planning is advanced, with the drill site designed to connect to
existing Kuparuk infrastructure via a short seasonal tie-in. This access
strategy is expected to reduce mobilisation risk, environmental impact,
construction time and overall drilling campaign costs.

88 Energy has also contracted a dedicated Arctic-rated drilling camp for the
Augusta-1 program, further strengthening execution readiness for the planned
winter campaign. With the rig secured, access arrangements advancing and key
logistics progressing, 88 Energy is well positioned and firmly on track to
deliver the planned Q1 2027 spud of the Augusta‑1 well.

 

 

Funding and Participation Strategy Update

Drilling of the Augusta-1 well is planned for the Q1 2027 Alaskan winter
drilling season, subject to securing an appropriate funding structure.

88 Energy continues to evaluate a range of funding and participation options
for the Augusta-1 exploration well and the broader South Prudhoe Project,
following the commencement of a formal farmout process in February 2026.

Since securing highly prospective acreage within the South Prudhoe Project in
November 2025, the Company has rapidly progressed the project, systematically
de-risking and defining multiple low-risk prospects, particularly within the
North-West Hub. This has included the purchase and interpretation of new 3D
seismic data, integration of legacy and regional datasets, improved definition
of prospectivity, and the ranking and prioritisation of well-defined drill
targets. This work has led to the selection of Augusta-1 as a priority
drilling target, designed to test a substantial, development-scale oil
resource across multiple reservoirs.

A farm-out remains the Company's preferred mechanism to share drilling risk
and capital requirements while retaining meaningful exploration upside. The
Company continues to advance farm-out discussions with multiple parties.

With a 100% working interest in the South Prudhoe Project and a strong cash
balance of approximately A$10 million as at the end of April 2026, 88 Energy
retains flexibility over transaction structure and timing and will pursue the
optimal pathway to balance value realisation and execution risk, ensuring
alignment with shareholders' interests.

 

This announcement has been authorised by the Board.

 

 

 88 Energy Ltd

 Ashley Gilbert, Managing Director

 Tel: +61 (0)8 9485 0990

 Email: investor-relations@88energy.com

 Fivemark Partners, Investor and Media Relations
 Michael Vaughan                                                                Tel: +61 (0)422 602 720

 Euroz Hartleys Ltd
 Chelsey Kidner                                                                 Tel: +61 (0)8 9268 2829

 Cavendish Capital Markets Limited
 Derrick Lee / Pearl Kellie                                                     Tel: +44 (0)131 220 6939

 Hannam & Partners

 Leif Powis / Neil                                                              Tel: +44 (0) 207 907 8500
 Passmore

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the ASX Listing Rules Chapter 5 and the AIM
Rules for Companies, the technical information and resource reporting
contained in this announcement was prepared by, or under the supervision of,
Dr Stephen Staley, who is a Non-Executive Director of the Company. Dr Staley
has more than 40 years' experience in the petroleum industry, is a Fellow of
the Geological Society of London, and a qualified Geologist / Geophysicist who
has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style and nature of the oil
prospects under consideration and to the activities discussed in this
document. Dr Staley has reviewed the information and supporting documentation
referred to in this announcement and considers the prospective resource
estimates to be fairly represented and consents to its release in the form and
context in which it appears. His academic qualifications and industry
memberships appear on the Company's website, and both comply with the criteria
for "Competence" under clause 3.1 of the Valmin Code 2015. Terminology and
standards adopted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers "Petroleum Resources
Management System" have been applied in producing this document. 88E is not
aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information
included in the referenced market announcements and that all material
assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates continue to
apply and have not materially changed.

 

South Prudhoe Project Overview

South Prudhoe is a large, consolidated exploration position on Alaska's North
Slope comprising approximately 52,269 acres immediately south of the Prudhoe
Bay and Kuparuk River producing units.

The acreage is situated within one of the most prolific oil‑prone fairways
on the North Slope and benefits from extensive regional well control, modern
seismic coverage and ready access to established infrastructure.

South Prudhoe hosts multiple stacked, laterally extensive reservoir intervals,
including the Ivishak, Kuparuk and shallower Brookian (Upper Schrader Bluff
 USB ) formations, with demonstrated regional productivity. The project has
been organised into discrete exploration hubs (North‑West Hub and
South‑East Hub), each capable of supporting future satellite development in
the event of exploration success.

The Augusta Prospect, located within the North‑West Hub, represents the
Company's highest‑priority exploration target. The planned Augusta‑1
exploration well will test the stacked Ivishak, Kuparuk and USB reservoirs,
which are directly analogous to those producing in nearby Prudhoe Bay and
Kuparuk River fields and together host an estimated gross unrisked 2U
Prospective Resource of ~134 MMbbls (~111 MMbbls net to 88 Energy)(1).

Augusta‑1 will be drilled adjacent to existing oil discoveries and producing
infrastructure, providing a clear pathway to future development in the event
of a commercial discovery. The location is supported by high-quality, modern
3D seismic data, strong structural definition and nearby well control.

Across the broader South Prudhoe Project, multiple additional prospects are
defined within both the North‑West and South‑East hubs, with significant
unrisked Prospective Resource potential across several independent reservoir
intervals. The scale, stacked nature and infrastructure proximity underpin the
projects strategic importance within 88 Energy's North Slope portfolio.

 

(#_ftnref1)  1   Target spud is indicative and subject to change. The Company
reserves the right to alter this timetable at any time.

( 2 ) Cautionary Statement: Prospective Resources are estimated quantities of
petroleum that may be potentially recovered by the application of a future
development project and relate to undiscovered accumulations. These estimates
have both an associated risk of discovery and a risk of development. Further
exploration, appraisal and evaluation are required to determine the existence
of a significant quantity of potentially recoverable hydrocarbons.

 3  Refer to the ASX Announcements dated 19 February and 18 May 2026. Iv =
Ivishak, Kup = Kuparuk and SB = Upper Schrader Bluff. GCOS = Geological Chance
of Success. N-W = North-West Hub.

 4  Refer to Cautionary Statement on page 1.

 5  Refer to the ASX Announcements dated 19 February 2026 and 18 May 2026.

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