Six months after Hormuz-driven helium price spikes exposed a fragile global supply chain, AIM-listed Mendell Helium's Kansas wells are starting to offer a rare production-stage alternative.
Mendell Helium (AIM: MDH) has emerged as one of the more tangible beneficiaries of the scramble to diversify helium supply away from the Gulf, with preliminary gas samples from its Rost 2 well in Kansas showing helium concentrations of 10.7% and 10.9%, more than double the roughly 5.1% consistently recorded at neighbouring Rost 1.
The readings matter because helium buyers spent much of the summer grappling with the fallout from the Strait of Hormuz disruption, which briefly doubled spot helium prices after Qatar's Ras Laffan facility was knocked offline. Mendell's Fort Dodge asset offers investors a rare production-linked route into a market where discovery alone counts for little without flow rates, infrastructure and customers already in place.
Mendell completed its move to AIM on 16th June, having raised £5 million in April to accelerate development of its Kansas assets. At admission, its subsidiary M3 Helium held interests in twelve wells, six of which were already producing, giving the company an operating base rather than a purely exploration-led story from day one.
The change at Rost 2 has been the standout development since then. After an electric submersible pump was installed, the well was dewatering at around 1,100 barrels per day by September and had begun bringing gas-bearing fluids to surface, ahead of the concentration readings that first hinted at meaningfully richer gas than Rost 1. Rost 1 itself resumed production after tubing replacement and scheduled maintenance, as the wider Fort Dodge operation begins to broaden its output base.
The bigger picture, as laid out in Share Talk's six-month review of the sector, is that the helium market has adapted to the Hormuz shock without genuinely diversifying: USGS estimates put around four-fifths of identified helium resources outside the US in just three countries, Qatar, Algeria and Russia. That concentration is exactly why London-listed developers such as Mendell are being watched closely, though the company still needs to confirm that Rost 2 can sustain meaningful gas flow once sufficient water has been removed before the higher concentration readings can be treated as more than preliminary.
This report is based on Mendell Helium’s announcement and coverage by Share Talk. Company announcements can be tracked via London Stock Exchange RNS and Investegate, and the full results calendar is worth watching for the next update.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Photo: Zbynek Burival on Unsplash.
Small Cap News covers London’s junior market – AIM, small-cap and growth companies – with concise, sourced reporting on the results, deals and regulatory news that move share prices. We track the stories private investors actually need, from contract wins and drilling updates to fundraises and half-year figures, straight from the market’s own announcements.