Free State Business 2018 edition

OVERVIEW
Oil and gas
Free State gas fields could feed new power stations.
SECTOR INSIGHT
Sasol has converted its
Sasolburg operations from
coal to gas.
• Afrox is building a helium
plant.
A
new national focus on gas as a fuel to supply energy will
benefit the Free State. Sasol’s Sasolburg operations in the
northern part of the Free State are a key national asset in
the gas sector and there are early signs that there are large
gas fields in the province.
Natural gas is an inexpensive alternative to coal. Although the coal is
still powering most power stations in South Africa, it is a finite resource.
Petroleum Agency SA is the state agency responsible for promoting
and regulating exploration and production of oil and gas in the country.
Data suggests that the Free State has 23-billion cubic feet of gas
underground but only exploration can confirm this. If the gas is found
in large quantities, then up to four new power stations could be built
in the province.
Four applications for gas exploration in the Free State have recently
been made. The two from Rhino Oil and Gas Exploration South Africa
are part of a series of applications that the British Virgin Islands-based
company has made across three
provinces, “most of which”, according
to the Mail & Guardian,
have been granted. Rhino’s two
Free State applications cover
2.8-million hectares. The other
two are from Motuane Energy
in the Lejweleputswa District
Municipality (between Virginia and
Senekal) and Sungu Sungu Gas in
the Thabo Mofutsanyana District
Municipality (south of Memel).
Both applications have been opposed
by farmers: Sungu Sungu
withdrew its application before a
High Court hearing in November
2016.
Sasol is doing its own conversions
at its plants. The major economic
sectors using gas are the
metals sector and the chemical,
pulp and paper sector. Brick and
glass manufacturers are also big
consumers.
A major investment by Afrox
(a member of the Linde group)
will see a R200-million plant built
to extract helium near Virginia.
Renewable energy company
FREE STATE BUSINESS 2018
50