REG - Thor Energy PLC - Award of Two New Prospective Licence Applications

Thor EnergyAnnouncement

20/02/2026 08:00

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RNS Number : 8206T  Thor Energy PLC  20 February 2026

20 February 2026

 

Thor Energy PLC

 

("Thor" or the "Company")

 

Award of Two New Highly Prospective Natural Hydrogen & Helium Exploration
Licence Applications in Otway Basin, South Australia

 

Thor Energy plc (AIM, ASX: THR, OTCQB: THORF) is pleased to announce the
successful award of two new Regulated Substance Exploration Licence
Applications ("RSELA") (RSELA 810 and RSELA 811) to Thor and its 50:50 joint
venture partner, H2EX Ltd ("H2EX"). Located in the onshore Otway Basin in
Southeastern South Australia, these applications represent a significant
expansion of the Company's natural hydrogen and helium exploration footprint
and hydrocarbon potential, covering a combined area of 4,123km(2), slightly
larger than one million acres.

 

Highlights:

·    Strategic Joint Venture: award of RSELA 810 and 811 in a 50:50
partnership with natural hydrogen explorer, H2EX.

 

·    Proven Hydrogen Potential: RSELA 810 hosts the historic 1915 Robe-1
well, which recorded an exceptional 25.4% natural hydrogen concentration (Ref:
Alexander, 2023
(https://www.energymining.sa.gov.au/industry/energy-resources/regulation/projects-of-public-interest/natural-hydrogen-exploration)
).

 

·    Highly Prospective Region: located in the onshore Otway Basin, an
area historically famous for oil and gas exploration and production, now
demonstrates significant potential for natural hydrogen and helium.

 

·    Synergistic Portfolio Expansion: adds substantial value and risk
diversification to Thor's portfolio, building on the successful exploration
blueprint established at the Company's flagship HY-Range (RSEL 802) project.
Located close to infrastructure with easy access to South Australia's and
Victoria's east coast energy and industrial markets.

 

Following today's announcement: "New opportunities in the pipeline
(https://energymining.sa.gov.au/home/news/latest/new-opportunities-in-the-pipeline)
" by the South Australian Minister of the Department of Energy and Mining
("DEM"), these applications will now progress through the standard permitting
processes before being formally awarded as granted Regulated Substance
Exploration Licences ("RSEL"). Further announcements will be made as and when
the permitting processes progress.

 

Andrew Hume, Managing Director and CEO, commented:

"We are thrilled to secure RSELA 810 and 811 alongside our joint venture
partners, H2EX. The award of these licence applications is a fantastic
milestone, representing a mature, oilfield-style approach to exploration where
we can combine our technical strengths to unlock the immense potential of the
Otway Basin.

 

"The historical 25.4% hydrogen reading from the Robe-1 well speaks volumes
about the pedigree of this acreage, which holds substantial natural hydrogen
and helium potential across several undrilled plays. We look forward to
applying the extensive learnings we have gathered from our HY-Range project to
this new, highly prospective acreage as we await the finalisation of licence
awards."

 

RSELA 810 and RSELA 811: Approach, Overview and Impact

RSELA 810 and RSELA 811 are in Southeastern South Australia, a state that
remains at the heart of Thor's clean energy, decarbonisation and energy metals
strategy (Figure 1).

 

Figure 1: Location of RSELA 810 and RSELA 811 within Thor Energy's South
Australian portfolio

A Collaborative Partnership Approach

This joint bid demonstrates the integration of established oilfield commercial
practices within the emerging natural hydrogen sector. By partnering in this
way, Thor Energy and H2EX are combining their proprietary know-how and
extensive South Australian operational expertise. This collaborative approach
is designed to maximise the exploration potential of these specific areas,
pooling resources and technical knowledge to efficiently accelerate discovery.
The fees associated with the licence application were not material, and no
consideration applied to the formation of the partnership. Any costs incurred
by the project will be evenly split on a 50:50 basis between Thor and H2EX.

 

Geological Diversity and Historical Verification

The onshore Otway Basin is historically renowned for its rich oil and gas
pedigree, providing legacy data to inform our understanding of the regional
subsurface architecture. Whilst the basin has been the focus of historic oil
and gas activity, numerous under-explored areas and play types particularly
suited to natural hydrogen and helium prospectivity have been identified.
RSELA 810 and 811 are considered highly prospective, benefitting from
significant geological diversity that offers multiple potential mechanisms for
natural hydrogen and helium source generation, migration pathways, and
trapping potential.

 

Notably, the prospectivity of the acreage is strongly supported by historical
data; the Robe-1 well, drilled within the RSELA 810 area in 1915, encountered
gas containing 25.4% natural hydrogen, providing a strong proof-of-concept for
the region's active generation systems.

 

Portfolio Synergies and Strategic Growth

RSELA 810 and RSELA 811 provide high-value enrichment to Thor's natural
hydrogen and helium portfolio. It allows the Company to apply the advanced
learnings, workflows, and field methodologies developed at its 80.2%-owned
HY-Range Project (RSEL 802) and implement them in a new setting. This enables
subtle variations in geological prospectivity, effectively adding value and
improving risk diversity across the Company's broader natural hydrogen and
helium portfolio.

 

Next Steps

Following the recent announcement by the State Minister of the DEM, Thor and
H2EX will await further details and collaborate with the DEM as the
applications progress through the necessary permitting and consultation
processes towards awarding of a full licence. Further announcements will be
made as and when the permitting processes progress.

 

About our Joint Venture Partner, H2EX

H2EX is a Perth-based private energy explorer focused on the emerging natural
hydrogen and helium sector in Australia. The company holds a significant
acreage position in South Australia as well as Western Australia, headlined by
PEL 691 in South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, where it has developed a
portfolio of natural hydrogen and helium drilling targets following numerous
geotechnical surveys since the licence award in 2022.

 

H2EX is distinguished by its collaborative approach to exploration, having
secured Federal Government CRC-P grant funding, working alongside leading
Australian universities and service providers such as CSIRO, Australia's
National Science Agency, to pioneer low-impact, cost-effective and timely
exploration techniques.

 

The company is led by a highly experienced executive team with deep roots in
the Australian energy landscape, including Non-Executive Chairman Peter
Coleman (former CEO of Woodside Energy) and Co-Founders Mark Hanna and
Greschen Brecker.

 

The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that
materially affects the exploration results referenced in this announcement,
and that the form and context in which the Government of South
Australia's findings are presented have not been materially modified from the
original publication.

 

References

Alexander, E. 2023. Natural hydrogen exploration in South Australia - update.
Government of South Australia, Department for Energy and Mining. Viewed 19
February 2026. Available at:
https://www.energymining.sa.gov.au/industry/energy-resources/regulation/projects-of-public-interest/natural-hydrogen-exploration
(https://www.energymining.sa.gov.au/industry/energy-resources/regulation/projects-of-public-interest/natural-hydrogen-exploration)

 

-ENDS-

 

The Board of Thor Energy Plc has approved this announcement and authorised its
release.

 

For further information on the Company, please visit the website
(https://thorenergyplc.com/)  or please contact the following:

 

Thor Energy PLC

Andrew Hume, Managing Director

Alastair Clayton, Non-Executive Chairman

Rowan Harland, Company Secretary

Tel: +61 (8) 6555 2950

 

Zeus Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)

Antonio Bossi / Darshan Patel / Liv Highton

Tel: +44 (0) 203 829 5000

 

SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker)

Nick Emerson

Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413 500

 

Yellow Jersey (Financial PR)

Dom Barretto / Shivantha Thambirajah

thor@yellowjerseypr.com

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3004 9512

 

About Thor Energy Plc

The Company is focused on Hydrogen and Helium exploration, which are crucial
in the shift to a clean energy economy, with a portfolio that also includes
copper, gold, uranium, and other energy metals.

 

For further information on Thor Energy and to see an overview of its projects,
please visit the Company's website at https://thorenergyplc.com/
(https://thorenergyplc.com/) .

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