UTE mountain UTE tribe offers this solicitation proposal for the purpose of reprocessing 400 miles of existing in-house 2D data (55 lines)

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe received a $149,125 project grant award on September 22, 2025, under the Minerals and Mining on Indian Lands program (CFDA 15.038), administered by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. The project, with a completion date of September 21, 2027, involves reprocessing approximately 400 miles of existing two-dimensional seismic data spanning 55 lines to identify and substantiate drill-ready locations for helium exploration, with secondary targets for oil and gas development. This technical evaluation deliverable aims to establish the viability of helium and conventional hydrocarbon extraction from the tribe's mineral resources located in Towaoc, Colorado.

The award supports the tribe's assessment of helium development potential within geologically favorable conditions on tribal lands, specifically evaluating the Pennsylvanian Akah Formation as a seal structure above the Leadville Carbonate reservoir. By advancing the technical and economic feasibility analysis of helium prospecting—a strategically important domestic energy resource—the project positions the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe to pursue viable mineral development that addresses both tribal economic development objectives and national energy security priorities. The reprocessed seismic data and resulting analyses will serve as the foundation for future development decisions and potential drilling operations.

The goal of this work is to substantiate one or more drilling locations for helium - and secondary oil and gas targets to be drill-ready by early 2026.helium is irreplaceable for the manufacture of semi-conductors, therefore the use of phones, vehicles, certain healthcare devices, military technology, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and clean energy are all at risk if we fail in delivering long term domestic supplies of helium. Helium is also on average 10X the price for natural gas. Solid economics is the key to success for delivering much needed domestic helium supplies to united states consumers which is particularly important since most present domestic helium projects are failing economically, and this will be compounded if either russia or qatar commence a helium price war on our soil. (similar to russia dumping cheap helium into china the past 2 years). With additional critical research, its possible the UTE mountain UTE tribe could separate itself from the rest of the pack on a finding and developing (F D) basis. These special circumstances could arise from a unique set of geologic criteria associated with tribal minerals. Summarizing:1.the utes pennsylvanian akah formation a regional evaporite is an ideal seal for trapping miniscule helium molecules.2.below the akah is the leadville carbonate, a prolific helium, CO2, oil and gas reservoir from wyoming to SW colorado.3.as the akah thins in a southwesterly direction across tribal lands, there is a case to be made that the akah salt and anhydrites could be thick enough to provide a sufficient helium seal, while thin enough to penetrate the leadville without requiring 7 intermediate casing a common prerequisite for wellbore stability drilling through evaporites.4.at todays high steel prices, running the 7 intermediate almost doubles the operators drilling costs dramatically increasing the F D costs.if the UMU grant solicitation is authorized, its the goal to either drill at least 1 exploration well next year utilizing 3RD party funding or follow up the reprocessing effort with a surgical 3D program. The UTE mountain UTE tribe plans to utilize the expertise four corners helium, who has mapped over 10,000,000 acres of helium opportunities in the southern rockies, plus has gained familiarity with almost every helium project in the unites states. The designated tribal coordinator going forward will be MR dave balleau: director, UTE mountain UTE tribe energy committee. 970-564-5690