https://www.miningweekly.com
Africa|Energy|Exploration|Gas|Mining|Oil And Gas|Oil-and-gas|Petroleum|Environmental|Drilling
Africa|Energy|Exploration|Gas|Mining|Oil And Gas|Oil-and-gas|Petroleum|Environmental|Drilling
africa|energy|exploration|gas|mining|oil-and-gas|oilandgas|petroleum|environmental|drilling

Six juniors to scope South Africa’s onshore hydrocarbon potential

26th November 2019

By: Marleny Arnoldi

Deputy Editor Online

     

Font size: - +

The Petroleum Agency of South Africa (Pasa) has awarded hydrocarbon exploration licences totalling 30 132 km2 to six junior mining companies in a bid to help resolve the country’s energy crisis.

There has been very little hydrocarbon exploration activity onshore in South Africa when compared with offshore to date and this makes current exploratory efforts critical.

The licences cover exploratory wells in the Northern Cape, North West and Free State, with a total risked mean gross petroleum resource potential of 1.06-billion barrels of oil.

The awarding of exploration licences on a cumulative acreage of this size is a clear indication of the Department of Minerals’ and Pasa’s commitment to finding alternative sources of energy in the form of oil and gas, one of the junior companies, ORM Exploration, said in a statement issued this week.

“It is exciting, as it shows that exploration, particularly onshore, is getting the backing it deserves. And we are buoyed by the recent developments around liquefied natural gas prospects, as some of our assets lie adjacent to territories with known gas seepages,” said ORM Exploration MD Chris Dorrington.

He added that the company had spent ten months conducting preliminary research into identified anomalous areas with technical cooperation permits and that the results seemed promising so far.

The six licence recipients form part of venture capital company Alumni Energy Investments, a locally registered Section 12J fund.

Alumni Energy Investments CEO Shakes Motsilili noted that there were no onshore seismic or other data studies of any significance available to date and that the companies would be pioneering a big data approach to hydrocarbon exploration.

“This will be our primary focus for the three-year duration of the new licences. And it is important that we are able to do it at scale,” he added.

The exploration rights mean that Alumni Energy Investments can now perform on-the-ground activity, including taking soil samples and telluric analysis.

Should the data prove compelling enough, it is permitted to conduct exploratory drilling, subject to meeting environmental impact assessment criteria.

“This is going to require a significant exploration programme. It is a big step towards implementing what we hope will lead to a natural gas to electricity strategy in a relatively short timeframe.

“Such a large acreage has the potential to change the energy landscape should it lead to even a modest hydrocarbon find,” concluded Motsilili.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

Showroom

Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East
Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East

Weir Minerals Europe, Middle East and Africa is a global supplier of excellent minerals solutions, including pumps, valves, hydrocyclones,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Schauenburg SmartMine IoT
Schauenburg SmartMine IoT

SmartMine IoT has been developed with the mining industry in mind, to provides our customers with powerful business intelligence and data modelling...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
27th March 2024
Resources Watch
Resources Watch
27th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.149 0.183s - 111pq - 4rq
Subscribe Now