Our Supplier

Renergen is a producer of liquid helium and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Virginia Gas Project in the Free State in South Africa.

Renergen’s principal asset is its 94.5% shareholding in Tetra4, which holds the first and only onshore petroleum production right (issued by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE)) in South Africa, giving it first-mover advantage in the distribution of domestic natural gas. Their Virginia Gas Project is located in the Free State, approximately 250 km southwest of Johannesburg.

Their natural gas contains one of the richest helium concentrations recorded globally. The natural gas is also very pure with an average of over 90% methane, and almost zero higher alkanes, which reduces the complexity of liquefication. Furthermore, their natural gas offers a less carbon-intensive substitute for South Africa’s existing transport, thermal, and power fuels.

About Renergen

Company Overview

  • Renergen is South Africa’s first onshore natural gas explorer and the first integrated producer of both liquefied helium (LHe) and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Virginia Gas Project

  • The Virginia Gas Project comprises production rights covering approximately 187,000 hectares of gas fields across Welkom, Virginia, and Theunissen in the Free State, with an additional 18,732.93 hectares under exploration rights. The natural gas produced from the Virginia Gas Project is primarily microbial in origin.

  • This gas originates from a 2.02-billion-year-old asteroid impact event that created the interconnected fault and fracture system in the underlying geological formations that supports reservoir connectivity. Timing of the asteroid impact and conditions after impact resulted in bacteria adapting to the specific surroundings. Methane is generated as a result of the decomposition of organic content deposited from the lacustrine paleoenvironments. Helium gas is produced as a by-product of radioactive decay from abundant thorium and uranium found in the Dominion basement. Helium co-mingles with methane through fractures and faults where it occurs in both the WITS and the Karoo.

  • Production Right granted by the SA government for a 30-year period; renewable at Renergen’s discretion.

  • Life of Operation: The project is expected to be a long-lived asset with an indicative operating horizon of approximately 20 years..