Zephyr Energy has announced a step-change increase in its operated land position in the Paradox Basin, Utah, U.S. (the 'Paradox project') through the successful acquisition of an additional 27,000 acres under Federal and state leases in Utah. This substantial addition of new, undeveloped acreage offers multiple benefits:
- A doubling of the acreage footprint around Zephyr's White Sands Unit (the 'WSU') in the Paradox project, and a significant expansion of the Company's access to the proven Cane Creek reservoir and the greater Paradox Formation oil and natural gas play.
- Further exploration and development potential for helium also exists below the Paradox Formation across the newly acquired acreage.
- The new acreage is a largely contiguous position just to the south and west of the WSU, which will be beneficial for future development drilling.
- Based on Zephyr management's regional geological evaluation, the new acreage is expected to have similar Paradox Formation reservoir conditions to those found within the WSU.
- The potential to be developed by bolting onto Zephyr's existing and scheduled WSU infrastructure.
Circa 24,000 acres of the new acreage was acquired through a U.S. Bureau of Land Management ('BLM') competitive lease sale, with the remainder obtained through a targeted direct negotiation with the Utah Trust Lands Administration (the 'TLA'). The BLM leases have a primary lease term of ten years. The TLA primary lease terms are five years.
The acquisition costs of the new acreage were paid from the Company's existing cash resources.
There is potential to unitise the new acreage by forming new Federal units (as was performed at the WSU) or by expanding the WSU, should that be considered the optimal operational path (and subject to regulatory approval).
Figure 1: Map showing Zephyr's Paradox project acreage with the new acreage highlighted in green and the existing acreage highlighted in yellow.
As Figure 1 demonstrates, the new leases result in a substantially increased acreage footprint and an enhanced number of development opportunities located adjacent to Zephyr's existing acreage and pipeline infrastructure in the Paradox Basin.
Inclusive of the new acreage, the Company now operates a total of circa 70,000 gross acres in the Paradox Basin, the majority in which the Company holds a 100% working interest.
Update on divestment of undeveloped acreage
Further to its announcement on 21 May 2026, Zephyr is pleased to announce that the two transactions to divest of undeveloped, non-core acreage have now closed. Net proceeds of circa US$2.2 million have been received by the Company.
The acreage divested was located in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, U.S. and was originally acquired by the Company as part of its US$7.3 million acquisition of a portfolio of both producing wells and undeveloped acreage, the completion of which was announced on 26 August 2025. The Company continues to evaluate options for the remaining undeveloped acreage and will provide further updates in due course.
Colin Harrington, Zephyr's Chief Executive, said:
'I am delighted that we have bolstered the scale of our Paradox project with the acquisition of this contiguous acreage package which we believe will significantly enhance the commercial value of the Paradox project. These acquisitions come at a critical stage in our ongoing development of the Paradox project, in particular as we progress the farm-out discussions for the project.
'Over recent years, our team developed a strong understanding and detailed data set across the Paradox Basin, and we're extremely excited about this opportunity to further expand our operated asset base in the region.
'Zephyr will continue to pursue additional value creation from what is now a substantially-upsized Paradox Basin acreage position.'
Source: Zephyr Energy
