Norway player applies for exploration right in South Africa emerging gas and helium play

Oslo-listed Panoro Energy has lodged an application to secure an exploration right (ER) in South Africa in an emerging natural gas and helium play.

In 2022, the company secured a technical cooperation permit to study a certain tract of land in the Free State and, having liked what is has seen during desktop studies, decided to apply for a legal right to carry out on-the-ground exploration work.

The ER application has been submitted to the Petroleum Agency of South Africa, which regulates upstream activities.

Panoro’s area of interest covers about 1427 square kilometres in the northeast Free State, between Heilbron in the south, Koppies in the west, Deneysville in the northeast and Sasolburg in the north.

The company’s proposed three-year exploration work programme builds on the earlier desktop studies and has the main goal of gathering data from legacy boreholes to confirm the presence of gas.

Where possible, according to a notice filed by SLR Consulting, some boreholes may be re-entered to obtain gas samples and conduct geophysical logging operations.

To do this work, Panoro aims to access a limited number of farms, subject to agreed terms with landowners, and will not drill new boreholes or carry out hydraulic fracturing in this period.

An aerial geophysical survey will also be conducted to obtain high-resolution gravity gradiometry and magnetic data that will help define the area’s geology.

The proposed ER lies in the highly prospective North Karoo basin which holds natural gas and helium resources that are already being produced by companies such as Renergen.

According to SLR’s environmental scoping report, “some of the highest globally identified helium concentrations (have been) recorded in gas wells and boreholes in the North Karoo basin”.

SLR has now started an environmental impact assessment process.