Renegen’s S/African wildcat gas packed with helium
Sopuruchi Onwuka, with agency reports
A gas exploration well in South Africa has hit a pay with huge helium load, placing both the explorer, Renergen, and the country on the global map of the rage gas producers.
Unlike natural gas though, helium is not an energy source but the company says it holds commercial value for other industrial purposes.
According to sources, tests have found gas with concentrations of helium much larger than in commercial wells in other countries although most operators searching for fuel gas hardly pay attention to helium as a commodity.
Renergen’s current operations focus on compressed natural gas and intend to expand into gas liquefaction.
Helium, harnessed in less than 10 countries of the world, is said to be useful in medical scanners, superconductors, and space travel.
Promoters of Renergen, Stefano Marani and Nick Mitchell, had bought the gas rights on a 87,000-hectare piece of land in the Free State province for just $1 in 2012.
With an initial gas strike with high mix of helium, the company will now explore the market for helium with an estimated 9.74 billion cubic meters with potential to inflate about 1.4 trillion party balloons.
Helium does not interact with other gases and liquefies at about zero degree Celsius, making it ideal for cooling very hot things like magnets on MRI scanners or rocket engines.
