OVERVIEWEnergyMultiple
OVERVIEWEnergyMultiple energy types are receiving investments.A new dawn for new kinds of energy. Renergen’s Virgina Gas Project.At the Free State Energy Security Indaba, an ambitious goalto situate the country’s most centrally located provinceas an energy, logistics, distribution and beneficiation hubwas articulated.Opportunities in natural gas, solar, coal, ethanol, wind, uranium,hydropower and hydrogen were highlighted, investors wereencouraged to consider the prospects of various forms of energy andvarious entities were urged to collaborate to promote and growthe sector. The Provincial Government of the Free State has identifiedpartners in promoting the construction of renewable-energyplants and the issuing of exploration licences: private investors, theDepartment of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), InfrastructureSouth Africa (ISA) and the Central Energy Fund (CEF). A number ofinvestment commitments were made at the Indaba.The proximity of Welkom to the Virginia Gas Project is a majorfactor in the planning which is underway to create an energyfocusedSpecial Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Matjhabeng LocalMunicipality, but other projects are envisaged. Renergen’s 2019discovery of significant quantities of natural gas has led to theearly investment into the project of R1.2-billion. Ivanhoe Mines hasinvested a further R3.6-billion in order to secure offtake rights fromthe project and the Central Energy Fund has purchased a 10% stakefor R1-billion. While several liquid natural gas contracts have beensigned and production is flowing, helium production has provenmore difficult to get started. In addition, the company is in a legaldispute with Springbok Solar, which intends building a solar-powerplant nearby.Of the gases that Renergen is producing, methane has a strongpotential for use in the transport sector. The logistics sector wasthe first sector to respond to the potential of the Virginia find. BulkHauliers International Transport (BHIT) has signed an agreement toSECTOR INSIGHTTeraco is building a 120MWsolar plant for its data centres.take LNG to fuel 50 of its trucks,which should lead to loweroperating and maintenancecosts. South African Breweriesis another client. Renergen hasalso signed an agreement withTotalEnergies for distributionand sales. Renergen intendsequipping filling stations withLNG at strategic locations acrossSouth Africa to cater for thelogistics industry.Two important trends are atplay in the decision of Teraco,one of the country’s biggestdata-centre operators, to financethe building of a 120MW solar PVplant in the Free State. The first isthat data centres need immenseamounts of power and thatdemand for renewable energyis likely to grow enormously as aresult. The second is the conceptof wheeling, which means thatTeraco can have power sent toits centres all around the countryFREE STATE BUSINESS 202534PHOTO: Renergen
OVERVIEWusing the national grid, which previously was the exclusive preserveof Eskom and its customers. In order for that to happen, Teraco willadditionally invest in upgrading the transmission infrastructure. JUWIand Subsolar have been commissioned to develop the plant, with JUWIresponsible for design, procurement, construction and commissioning.The Natref refinery in Sasolburg may have its life extended by theintroduction of new technology. With every operator in fossil fuelsunder pressure to come up with cleaner methods, the joint operatorsof the refinery, Sasol and TotalEnergies, have announced that a newway of producing low-sulphur diesel is on the cards.The strategic importance of the Natref refinery cannot be underestimated.It is a technologically advanced facility, which refines heavycrude oil into petrol, diesel, commercial propane, jet fuel and bitumen.The refinery has also started a 10-year emissions-reduction programme.The chemical complex at Sasolburg is the economic driver of theoil and gas sector for the province. One of the Sasol companies atSasolburg, Sasol New Energy, is moving the group away from relianceon fossil fuels and the company has started commissioning solar PVplants in South Africa, as it has done in other locations such as Chile,pictured. The company’s larger goal across all its sites is eventually toprocure 600MW of renewable energy and achieve a 10% greenhousegas (GHG) emission reduction by 2030.Sasolburg Operations is one of the five operating hubs that forms partof the Southern African Operations and is a 100%-owned facility. Itincludes all operations on the Sasol One and the Sasol Midland sites.ONLINE RESOURCESPetroleum Agency South Africa: www.petroleumagencysa.comSouth African Oil and Gas Alliance: www.saoga.org.zaSouth African Independent Power Producers Association: www.saippa.co.zaThe integrated manufacturingfacility is responsible forthe production of base andperformance chemicals. Italso produces electricity andother utilities and provides sitesupportservices to enable themanufacturing processes takingplace on site.The African Oil BlendingCorporation (AOBC) hasannounced that it will spendR130-million on repurposingand upgrading its Harrismithlubricant blending facility. Thenew focus will be on producingwater-based and monoethyleneglycol-based coolants for theindustrial and automotive sectors.The regulator and promoter ofoil and gas exploration in SouthAfrica, Petroleum Agency SouthAfrica, has awarded coalbedmethane-gas exploration rightsin KwaZulu-Natal and naturalgas exploration permits in theFree State. Early surveys suggestthat the Free State has 23-billioncubic feet of gas underground.Tests in the Karoo have revealedsome quantities of shale gas. ■35 FREE STATE BUSINESS 2025
