A unit of Italian contractor Saipem has secured a front end engineering and design contract for Renergen’s LNG production project in South Africa.
Renergen is developing the country’s first small-scale LNG plant, mainly for truck fuel, as part of its Victoria gas project based on several gas fields across Welkom, Virginia and Theunissen in the Free State province.
The new award is a part of several studies for the second phase of Renergen’s Victoria project. The natural gas and helium producer awarded the contracts to Saipem but also to EPCM Holdings and Sproule.
Besides the downstream LNG facilities, Saipem’s contract also includes liquid helium processing facilities, Renergen said on Wednesday.
In addition, EPCM, which is already building the gas pipeline for the Vicoria project’s first phase, will study Renergen’s Phase 2 pipeline. Sproule will evaluate and certify the project’s reserves based on new data and the current drilling campaign.
Renergen expects the completion of the studies in the second quarter after it plans to take a final investment decision on the second phase.
The ASX-listed firm aims to launch the first production phase of the Victoria project with initial volumes of around 350kg of helium and 2,500GJ of LNG later this year.
Moreover, the second phase would significantly boost LNG volumes for distribution in South Africa while helium would go for exports, Renergen says.
