I had a good chat with Colm Cloonan yesterday. He was happy for...

I had a good chat with Colm Cloonan yesterday. He was happy for me to share my Q&A. All looking very good in my honest opinion!

1. Why did you not run with the mid and downstream EIA n parrallel whilst waiting on the RFP?
The EIA process cant be started until the precise known locations of wells have been agreed which was to be agreed post Seismic. Negotiations need to be made with farmers for certain areas of land where transmission lines are to be run and approvals need to be in place following applications to sub land and regional land authorities. These are now in place and so the EIA can proceed.
The orientation of the wells has also changed following the seismic and coring work, these are now to run SW as opposed to NE due to the direction of the cleats in the coal. By changing the positioning the horizontal wells that are drilled in to the seam can maximise the natural fractures and permeability better in the seam which should in turn give better desorption rates and higher gas flows.

2. The RFP was cancelled based on compliance issues around ISOs and Health and Safety certifications etc. Why could you not model all the criteria based on the POC?
The requirements of compliance needed to be completed from a commercially operated plant. Whilst the POC gives proof to the gas to power this was not a fully manned and maintained operation so was not sufficent enough in size to give the government what was needed. The points were raised to Government prior to submission along with a cover note highlighting the areas. The documents would have been fully examined anyway regardless of these key points to confirm all other areas before a decision was made. As GG recently explained in interview having come from his previous role, these things do happen so he himself was not overly surprised.

3. Where is your focus in regards to other offtakers, do you believe you will get agreements in place in the short term?
TG and GG are working hard in Botswana. All responses with key stakeholders and multiple meetings from government have been very good. CC is confident that they will be able to agree a smaller pilot project soon as has been mentioned and that the RFP re-tender should come in the short term on top of this.
A number of mines have closed down within Bots, one Selebi-Phikwe was consuming around 24% of grid capacity. The closure has been led by the downturn in commodity pricing. With commodities on an upturn then there will be demand for existing closed mines and new mines to come online, this will further add to requirements of power in the region.
Good discussions are being made with Zimbabwe, they have been approached around CBM knowledge to help build up the CBM industry there and is something they are reviewing. This could lead to a free carry if they decided to pursue this route.
Tlou have been approached by International firms operating in the DRC that are interested in the project as Tlous gas/power could suport other mining opporunities in the area via the SAPP.