eBusiness Weekly
Martin Kadzere
Zimbabwe’s Shangani Energy Exploration (SEE) expects to start a pilot coal bed methane gas extraction in Lupane district, about 600 km west of Harare, by 2024, where the company intends to build a 400 megawatt power plant, an official said.
SEE is 90 percent owned by China’s Sinosteel Corporation and is also the majority shareholder in Zimasco, one of the largest ferrochrome producers in Zimbabwe.
The company will invest nearly US$800 million to extract methane gas, also used in automobiles as petrochemical fuel, to fire a 400 MW power plant to be built over 10 years.
In addition to power generation, an integrated petrochemical industry will be established with the creation of new jobs while encouraging new business formations.
The whole CBM industry has the potential to create an economic boom for Zimbabwe.
SEE resumed exploration exercises last month after work had been stopped due to lack of funding.
The current phase of exploration will see core drilling of one hole on each of the special grants (SGs) planned at various approximate depths being at least 600 metres on first special grants, 1000 metres on second special grants and 450 metres on third special grants, SEE spokesperson Clara Sadomba told Business Weekly.
“Core drilling was completed in September 2021 at 690 metres deep at the first special grants and core samples taken for evaluation of methane gas content through desorption tests,” Sadomba said. “Core drilling is currently in progress at the second special grant after which the team will move to the third special grant. The core drilling will take just over three months so we expect completion during October 2021.”
Sadomba said the results of the first phase will inform the second stage which entails sinking of new gas wells. “This will be the start of gas production for power generation as well as liquefaction to LNG (liquid natural gas) which can be a substitute for diesel in converted lorries and buses. Pilot gas production and electricity generation at a small scale in 2023/24 will encourage larger levels of investment.
“More work for phase three will be scoped in due course, again informed by results of the second phase.”
Wire logging technology by a South African contractor will be employed to map the CBM formation. Other work includes installing bigger pumps on existing wells to pump out water quicker thereby releasing gas and measuring its quality and flow rate.
From explorations works so far conducted, there is evidence of the existence of a considerable methane gas resource whose viability now needs to be proved. Coal bed methane reserves were first discovered in the Mat North province some decades ago but commercial exploration has failed to take off due to lack of investment.
Last year, Zimbabwe granted coal bed methane gas to six companies to explore coal bed methane in Lupane, Gwayi and Hwange as it seeks more investment into the country. Among the companies that were granted concessions are Sakunda Holdings and Tumagole of South Africa. Zimbabwe is said to have huge untapped coal bed methane, but its commercial viability has not yet been supported by geological information.
Over the years, drilling and desorption tests have been conducted and resources that run into trillions of cubic feet have been discovered, the Government’s geological department said.
