Name of the Project
Virginia gas project.

Location
The project spans 187 000 ha of gasfields across Welkom, Virginia and Theunissen, in the Free State, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Tetra4, a subsidiary of Renergen.

Project Description
The project entails the construction of a 52 km gas-gathering pipeline and cryogenic liquefaction processing facilities.

The aim is to produce all South Africa’s helium requirements and potentially export the balance of production, as well as produce the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) locally available for commercial consumption.

Phase 1 aims to produce 350 kg/d of helium and ramp up to 1.2 t/d and 5 t/d of helium in Phase 2.

Additionally, Renergen will concurrently produce up to 10 000 GJ/d of LNG upon reaching full production. This amount of energy is equivalent to 277 000 ℓ/d of diesel.

Should production be maintained, the production right has a remaining life span of about 23 years.

Potential Job Creation
Despite the project’s size relative to traditional mining operations, it will create an estimated 360 temporary jobs during development and construction, and an estimated 82 permanent jobs once all the clusters have been developed.

Capital Expenditure
The total projected capital expenditure to roll out the first phase of production is estimated at R500-million, which includes the cryogenic liquefiers.

Planned Start /End Date
Phase 1 of the Virginia project is expected to start producing LNG and liquid helium by 2021. Phase 2 is expected to start construction in 2022 or 2023.

Latest Developments
Renergen and Total South Africa have signed an agreement for the joint marketing and distribution of LNG through Total’s service stations.

The first route targeted under the agreement will be the N3 between Johannesburg and Durban, followed by the corridors leading to the other major cities once Renergen’s Phase 2 project comes into production.

Renergen is in the construction phase of being South Africa’s first commercial LNG plant, and is expecting a turn-on date for the plant around the third quarter of 2021.

The customer base for the LNG will be predominantly logistics companies operating trucks along the main routes across the country, with a significant portion of the initial production already allocated to customers.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
MHA Petroleum (helium reserve independent expert report) and VGI (owner’s engineer with regard to the engineering and procurement phase of the project).

EPCM Bonisana (gas gathering work), a subsidiary of EPCM Holdings (EPC contractor).

Western Shell Cryogenic Equipment (technology and equipment), and Bohrmeister Technik (Phase 1 – drilling contract).

Contact Details for Project Information
Renergen, tel +27 10 045 6000, email info@renergen.co.za or investorrelations@renergen.co.za.