Three Months That Could Transform Ntorya

The timetable is now remarkably concentrated.

October 2026: workover of Ntorya-1.

November 2026: testing of Ntorya-2.

December 2026: drilling of NT-Central and targeted first gas from NT-1 and NT-2.

After NT-Central: drilling of Chikumbi-1.

For investors who have spent much of 2026 watching construction, procurement and project preparation, the emphasis is therefore moving towards the wells themselves.

NT-1 and NT-2 are already proven gas discoveries. Their preparation for production is now scheduled immediately ahead of first gas, while NT-C brings fresh drilling into the programme before CH-1 follows.

The result is not one drilling target replacing another. It is NT-C plus CH-1.

NT-Central: A New Well Moves Forward

NT-Central was not invented during the recent discussions.

Aminex says it had previously been planned as a development well for a later phase of field development. Following a technical reappraisal of Ntorya, APT proposed bringing the well forward.

Interestingly, NT-Central does not appear by that name on the development-well map presented to shareholders at the 2025 AGM. That map identifies a series of future NT wells across the field, including several locations within the higher hydrocarbon pore-volume areas towards its centre. Whether NT-C represents one of those previously identified locations under a new designation, or a newly selected location resulting from APT's subsequent technical reappraisal, has not yet been disclosed.

Under the programme now agreed, that is exactly what will happen, but without removing CH-1 from the development.

That distinction matters.

The updated Field Development Plan announced in 2025 envisaged Ntorya growing in stages from 60 MMscf/d to 140 MMscf/d and ultimately 280 MMscf/d, supported by an additional 13 wells over the following decade.

NT-C can therefore be viewed in the context of a much larger development rather than simply as an alternative drilling location.

Bringing one of those future development wells forward potentially provides additional reservoir information earlier in the development of the field while also creating another well capable of contributing to Ntorya's future production infrastructure.

First Gas Now Targeted for December

Perhaps the most important date in the announcement is December 2026.

First gas from NT-1 and NT-2 is now targeted for that month, and it was confirmed at the 26 August meeting that the Ntorya-Madimba pipeline will be completed in time to receive it.

That brings two major strands of the project together.

For much of this year, investors have been following the pipeline and upstream development as separate but interdependent projects. The latest programme now places their convergence firmly in December.

The pipeline provides the route to market.

NT-1 and NT-2 provide the initial gas.

Together they provide the route towards something Aminex has spent many years working towards: production and revenue from Ntorya.

A Busy Operational Period Begins in October

First gas is not the only catalyst.

October should see the workover of NT-1, the original Ntorya discovery well.

November then brings testing of NT-2, which previously flowed at a maximum rate of 20.1 MMscf/d during testing.

December brings both the planned drilling of NT-C and targeted production from NT-1 and NT-2.

CH-1 then follows NT-C.

Investors could therefore be moving from a period dominated by infrastructure construction into one containing successive operational events over several months.

The importance of that change should not be underestimated. Ntorya is moving closer to becoming an operating gas field rather than a development project waiting for production.

CH-1 Remains Firmly in the Programme

The sequencing of CH-1 has changed, but its importance has not disappeared.

CH-1 has long been expected to test a substantial part of the Ntorya accumulation and remains an important well for further understanding the scale and characteristics of the field.

Under the revised programme, NT-C will now be drilled first and CH-1 thereafter.

That means shareholders potentially get something more substantial than a choice between the two wells.

They get both.

The timing of CH-1 will become clearer as the preceding programme advances, but its continued inclusion preserves one of the major future catalysts for Ntorya beyond first gas.

It also means that December production need not wait for CH-1.

NT-1 and NT-2 can begin supplying gas while the wider drilling programme continues.

Funding for the Programme Confirmed

Another important statement in the announcement could easily be overlooked among the drilling dates.

APT confirmed to the parties that it has all necessary funds to carry out the revised Ntorya development programme.

That matters because an operational timetable has considerably more value when the operator confirms that the money required to execute it is available.

Aminex itself remains carried under the Ruvuma farm-out arrangements, with its existing carry expected to cover its share of expenditure through commercial production and beyond.

The revised programme therefore combines a defined operational sequence with confirmation from the operator that the necessary funding is available.

Drawing a Line Under the Recent Disagreement

The revised programme follows the disagreement between Aminex and APT over changes to the previously approved 2026 Work Programme and Budget.

A meeting was convened by Tanzania's Ministry of Energy on 26 August involving the Ministry, PURA, TPDC, APT and Aminex subsidiary Ndovu Resources.

The Government did not approve an extension and delay to the project timetable. Instead, all parties agreed the revised implementation schedule.

APT's proposal to bring NT-C forward has been incorporated, while CH-1 remains part of the programme and first gas is targeted for December.

The programme will now pass through the formal Joint Venture approval process under the Joint Operating Agreement. Given that both JV participants were represented at the meeting and the RNS states that all parties agreed the revised schedule, this appears to be the formal process required to implement what has already been agreed.

Aminex describes the outcome as important progress towards resolving the matters behind its Notice of Dispute.

For investors, attention can now return to execution.

From Pipeline Construction to Gas Production

The physical development of Ntorya has been visible throughout 2026.

Pipeline construction, civil engineering, well-site preparation, equipment procurement and upstream facilities have progressively changed the project on the ground.

The latest announcement provides the operational sequence designed to connect that infrastructure to producing wells.

There is an important difference between watching a pipeline being built for a future gas field and watching the final preparations for wells expected to feed gas into that pipeline within months.

Ntorya is approaching that transition.