Additional entities that will be operating in the economic zone that Renergen is looking to create will result in thousands of jobs.

The gas project is in its first phase, and 75 people are employed at the plant. During its construction, 350 jobs were created. The project is South Africa’s first onshore natural gas exploration and helium liquefaction operation.

It is also the country’s first integrated manufacturer of 99.999% pure liquid helium and liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is produced and processed from the enormous proven gas reserves that support the Virginia Gas Project.

“Helium is strategically, critically important to the world, and South Africa doesn’t consume much helium,” said Renergen’s Virginia Gas Project CEO Stefani Marani. We’d love to change that with a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) where we’d have more industries consuming helium.”

“On a global scale, our phase two project will be about 8% of the entire planet’s helium supply, so it is quite meaningful. So, we can actually see South Africa become one of the very large helium players globally.”

On the LNG side, the country is very dependent on external supplies of energy. Currently, our gas comes in via pipeline from Mozambique. It is critically important that, as a country, we start to develop our own indigenous energy resources, he said.

The Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe, visited the project on Friday, 20 June, to assess the progress of the gas exploration and helium liquefaction operation. Helium liquefaction is a process of cooling helium gas to extremely low temperatures, causing it to transition into a liquid state. 

Minister Mantashe at the visit to Renergen's Virginia Gas Project. Photo: Facebook/ Matjhabeng Local Municipality

“This project has the potential to become the biggest helium project in the world. I use the word potentially because anything that has a deposit is potential until it is exploited.”

“So this plant is hosting possibly the biggest helium deposits in the world, and that is a lot of work for the country,” he said.

“I always make the point that our future as a country depends on our ability to explore and exploit oil and gas, which will make a huge difference in the GDP of the country.”

OFM News previously reported that the Matjhabeng Municipality took a major step toward revitalising its regional economy with the official site handover for the R5 billion Welkom Cargo Airport project.

Mayor Thanduxolo Khalipa formally handed over the site of the current Welkom Airport to Sébastien Investissements et Logistique, the company spearheading the airport’s redevelopment into an international cargo hub.

OFM News/Zenande Mpame cg