88 Energy Ltd (AIM:88E, ASX:88E, OTCQB:EEENF, FRA:POQ), the AIM and ASX-listed oil and gas explorer, has commenced permitting and planning for the Augusta-1 exploration well on Alaska's North Slope, targeting prospective resources of 64 million barrels of oil equivalent on a best-estimate, gross unrisked basis.
The well is designed to test the stacked Ivishak and Kuparuk reservoirs within the North-West Lease Area of the company's South Prudhoe project, a 52,269-acre position situated immediately south of the prolific Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk River producing units, in which 88 Energy holds a 100% working interest.
Three potential drilling locations are being permitted to preserve flexibility for farm-out partners, future appraisal activity and incorporation of shallower Brookian targets currently under evaluation, with final well location selection expected by mid-2026.
Farm-out discussions are already underway, with multiple parties active in the data room following the launch of the process in late February 2026, and the company is targeting completion of that process in the third quarter of 2026.
Advanced negotiations with rig providers have also commenced, with a contract expected to be signed in the second quarter of 2026 ahead of a planned spud in the first quarter of 2027.
88 Energy said Augusta-1 represented its highest-priority drilling target, supported by well-defined structural traps and seismic amplitude anomalies consistent with proven reservoirs in the surrounding area.
The South Prudhoe leases were awarded in November 2025.