- Gas producer Tetra4 (Pty) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Renergen Ltd, which holds the only onshore Gas Production Right in South Africa, has been directed to resubmit its environmental authorisation application for its proposed production expansion to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) for reconsideration.
- Tetra4’s Production Right was granted in 2012 and spans an area of approximately 187 000 hectares in the Free State near the town of Virginia and surrounds.
In his 1 August 2024 decision upholding Appeals against the environmental authorisation by community-based organisations, Mining and Environmental Justice Community Network-South Africa (MEJCON-SA) and Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), and non-profit organisation, Natural Justice respectively, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment called for an expanded climate change impact assessment, given the inadequate analysis of greenhouse gas emissions in Tetra4’s reports, as raised by MEJCON-SA and MACUA in their appeal.
The Minister directed Tetra4 to provide a more detailed analysis of the impacts of climate change on the proposed project and on the environment and affected communities. Notably, the Minister also questioned Tetra4’s submission that Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is a “bridging fuel” and directed it to provide further information to substantiate that claim.
The Minister also found that impacts of the proposed project on rivers requires assessment before the application is considered. He found that the potential geohydrological impacts of Tetra4’s proposed activities were not clearly defined – impacts on water quality, the source of the water for the project, the construction of the gas wells and the possible leakage of deep groundwater into shallow aquifers, among other problems were flagged.
In an attempt to highlight the lived experience of communities impacted by existing fossil fuel extraction, these community organisations also asserted that it is irrational and dangerous to authorise projects with egregious impacts when the state lacks the resources and capacity to adequately ensure compliance with the conditions of environmental authorisations and environmental laws at those operations.
CER attended Renergen’s 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Sandton Johannesburg recently and raised key questions about the financial, environmental, and social sustainability of the company’s gas projects, in particular, its Tetra4 gas production company. During the AGM, it became clear that shareholders were concerned about the financial viability of the company, questioning the operational underperformance related to helium production as well as an alarming loss in market value over the last year.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
Source: CER
