Afro Clear to Start up SA CBM Project
Afro Energy, a joint venture between Sydney-listed Kinetiko Energy and South African Badimo Gas, has got the green light to launch pilot gas production at the Amersfoort coalbed methane (CBM) project in South Africa, Kinetiko said on October 21.
The approval from South Africa’s department of mineral resources and energy enables 500mn ft3/year of gas to be produced over a two-year period. “The approval to produce and sell gas enables the company to fast track pilot field gas production which has the potential to deliver first certified gas reserves and revenues,” Kinetiko chairman Adam Sierakowski stated.
Kinetiko said it has identified a further 20 gas compartments across the Amersfoort project from recently completed and interpreted aeromagnetic surveys. “Existing pilot production wells and each of the recently identified gas compartments has the potential to host gas production wells which provides the company with extensive alternatives to target pilot production wells adjacent to existing energy Infrastructure and markets,” it said.
Afro may apply to change the scope of the pilot phase in the future, in terms of volumes and its duration, Kinetiko said. The company intends to apply for full-scale production rights if the pilot stage is deemed a success.
Short-term gas production could be achieved through re-opening existing gas producing wells in the areas designated for the establishment of a pilot production test field in close proximity to well number KA-03PT within the ER56 tenement, the company said, adding that negotiations were advanced with potential off-takers for the gas, the company said.
Kinetiko has a 49% stake in two onshore gas licences in the Amersfoort area. Under a farm-out agreement with Badimo, Kinetiko is the project operator. According to Kinetiko, the Amersfoort area of the Eastern Transvaal coal field between Johannesburg and Durban is one of the most prospective areas for CBM.