Gas Masterplan, page-17

aaahha . . . some movement . . . I am not sure why this old story got a kick-along in a few news articles in leftie-greenie papers over the weekend in south africa . . . but any action is good action . . . .

"The development of natural gas reserves in Amersfoort, a small town in Mpumalanga, is being punted as having the potential to reshape South Africa’s energy dynamics and play a pivotal role in the nation’s journey toward a more diversified and sustainable energy future.However, environmental organisations question whether gas is a green energy source, and whether it will contribute to South Africa’s undertakings in the global fight against climate change.In 2023 Kinetiko Energy, an Australian gas exploration company, and the Industrial Corporation of South Africa (IDC) jointly signed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project for Amersfoort. The town is situated near Volksrust in the Mpumalanga-KwaZulu-Natal provincial border area, the heart of the country’s energy capital.Kinetiko describes the project, codenamed Korhaan after an endemic bird species found in the area, as South Africa’s largest onshore LNG project and aims to produce 50 megawatts (MW) of equivalent energy initially, with plans to expand to 500MW through the abstraction of more than two trillion cubic feet in gas reserves. LNG is natural gas that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurised storage or transport.IDC fundingTshepo Ramodibe, head of IDC Corporate Affairs, told Oxpeckers the discovery of the Amersfoort gas reserves followed more than two decades of extensive exploration and drilling conducted by various entities. The Korhaan project is still in the development phase, he said, with confirmatory drilling work and the completion of the application for production rights under way.“IDC will provide development funding for the project to complete a pilot phase that should confirm the availability of the gas reserves,” explained Ramodibe. The budget for the pilot phase is R155-million, with IDC committing up to R70-million for this phase, while the balance is provided by Afro Energy, a subsidiary of Kinetiko Energy Ltd.Asked what factors make Mpumalanga an attractive location for onshore LNG investment, Ramodibe identified the project’s proximity to local markets, especially Sasol, and the potential for power stations in the province to be converted to gas.“Various companies are on record exploring potential gas reserves in Mpumalanga. However, confirmations and outcomes can only be made by the involved companies,” he said.South Africa’s other onshore LNG project, the Renergen project, comprises exploration and production rights of 187,000ha of gas fields across Welkom, Virginia and Theunissen, in the Free State province. Full production is expected by 2027."