Aminex: Ntorya Edges Closer as Mnazi Bay Rig Campaign Nears the Final Stretch

Aminex: Ntorya Edges Closer

7th June 2026

A More Defined Timeline Is Starting to Emerge

For a long time, Aminex PLC investors have had to work with broad expectations rather than clear operational milestones. The project direction has been encouraging, but formal market guidance has naturally remained measured. That is why recent comments from Tanzanian officials have attracted such attention. They do not amount to a company announcement, and they should not be treated as one, but they do help fill in part of the wider picture.

What makes these statements important is that they come from official sources speaking publicly about active drilling operations and the expected onward use of the same rig. In practical terms, this gives shareholders something more tangible to assess. Instead of dealing only with abstract hopes about when the Ntorya campaign might begin, the market can now look at progress at Mnazi Bay and begin to judge how close the rig may be to becoming available.

That shift matters. For Aminex, the difference between a distant expectation and a narrowing operational window is significant. Investors may still be waiting for the formal rig contract announcement, but the surrounding evidence increasingly suggests that the wait is moving into its later stages rather than its early ones.

What Tanzanian Officials Have Said

The first important piece came in March, when the TPDC Managing Director was quoted as saying that the same drilling rig being used in the Mnazi Bay area would subsequently move to Ntorya in the Ruvuma Block. He also set out what that Ntorya programme is intended to involve: one new exploration well, a workover on a previously drilled well, and testing on a third. For Aminex PLC, those three operations correspond directly with what shareholders have been expecting at Ntorya.

The second important update came yesterday, June 6, when a PURA engineer stated that the Mnazi Bay campaign had begun on February 6, 2026 and comprises two production wells and one exploration well. Crucially, he added that by June 5 the two production wells, MB5 and MS2, had been completed, while the third well, KASA-1X, was still being drilled.

Taken together, those remarks create a far more useful operational framework than investors had before. They do not tell the market exactly when the rig will leave Mnazi Bay, and they do not replace the need for official confirmation from Aminex. But they do strongly suggest that the Mnazi Bay programme is now well advanced, with only the third well still outstanding.

Why This Matters for Aminex PLC

For Aminex PLC, this is not just a matter of news flow. It goes directly to the next major value-driving phase of the Ntorya story. The market has long understood that the arrival of the rig is a pivotal step. Once the contract is confirmed and mobilisation progresses, attention will shift rapidly toward execution: drilling, testing and the implications for the wider Ntorya resource base.

That is why investors are so focused on the narrowing gap between where things stand today and where they may stand in a matter of weeks. If the rig at Mnazi Bay is indeed approaching the end of its current campaign, then the long-anticipated transition toward Ntorya starts to feel much more immediate. For a company like Aminex, where timing of operational milestones can materially affect sentiment and valuation, that change in perception can be powerful.

It is also worth remembering that Ntorya is no longer being viewed in isolation. Tanzania’s gas sector is visibly moving forward, infrastructure development is advancing, and the government continues to speak positively about expanding domestic gas utilisation. Against that backdrop, the next stage for Aminex PLC carries broader significance than a routine drilling update. It sits within a national energy story that appears to be building momentum.

Why the Company Remains Careful

Even with encouraging signals, it is understandable that Aminex has not rushed ahead of itself publicly. Rig contracting, scheduling and operational readiness all involve moving parts, and listed companies have to be careful about what they say and when they say it. Until matters are sufficiently firm and disclosable, restraint is entirely normal.

Even so, shareholders are entitled to note the growing alignment of public signals. The company previously indicated that it expected a rig contract to be signed before the end of June. Separately, only last week, investors learned that a meeting was due to take place between Aminex and its PR advisers to discuss developments and the communications programme. On its own that proves nothing, but in the context of the wider timeline it can reasonably be taken as a sign that communications planning is keeping pace with operational progress.

In other words, caution from the company does not necessarily imply inactivity behind the scenes. Quite the opposite may be true. It may simply reflect the fact that Aminex PLC is waiting for the right moment to move from expectation to formal confirmation.

Satellite Watching and Growing Shareholder Excitement

Unsurprisingly, many private investors have been watching satellite imagery closely around the relevant well sites and rig pad areas. That sort of observation is never a substitute for official confirmation, but it has become part of how modern retail investors try to interpret developing situations in frontier energy stories. In this case, the wider official comments have given that satellite watching far more context.

The excitement within the shareholder base is therefore easy to understand. After such a long wait, investors can now point to a sequence that at least appears coherent. The Mnazi Bay campaign began in early February. Two wells have now reportedly been completed. The third is underway. TPDC has already publicly stated that the same rig is then expected to move to Ntorya. While no one should treat that as guaranteed until formally confirmed, the chain of logic is becoming difficult to dismiss.

This is why sentiment has begun to strengthen. The story is no longer just about what Aminex hopes to do eventually. It is increasingly about what appears to be lining up in real time.

What the Market May Be Starting to Price In

Markets do not wait for perfection. They often begin adjusting once the probability of an event starts to rise, rather than after every detail is formally announced. That may be what Aminex PLC shareholders are beginning to sense now. If the market concludes that the rig contract is genuinely close, and that Ntorya operations are moving from theory toward execution, then sentiment can shift before the official milestone lands.

That does not mean investors should get ahead of themselves. There is still a difference between a strong read-across and a confirmed announcement. But equally, it would be unrealistic to ignore how much the picture has tightened. For months, investors have wanted clearer clues on rig timing. They now have more than they did before, and those clues point in a direction that should reasonably encourage the market.

For Aminex, this is important because the next stage is where the company increasingly stops being valued as a story of patience and starts being valued as a story of delivery. The closer the rig gets, the more attention the market is likely to give to the actual upside in front of the company.

Conclusion

For Aminex PLC, the latest official remarks from TPDC and PURA do not provide the final word, but they do provide something almost as valuable at this stage: a far clearer sense of sequence. The Mnazi Bay drilling programme appears well advanced. Two of the three wells are reportedly complete. The third remains in progress. And the same rig has already been identified publicly as the one expected to move on to Ntorya.

That leaves shareholders in an increasingly interesting position. Formal confirmation is still required, and caution remains appropriate. But the logic is no longer vague. If the current campaign is indeed drawing toward its conclusion, then Aminex may be only weeks away from a development the market has been waiting years to see move into place.

For long-term holders, that is why the excitement is building. The rig contract may not yet have been announced, but the path toward Ntorya now appears shorter, clearer and more believable than it has for a very long time.

Contributing Author: Andrew Eldridge

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