28 Oct 2020

The Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security Mr Lefoko Moagi says there is sufficient methane deposits in the country hence his ministry will include the coalbed methane into the integrated resource plan approved by the cabinet.

In an interview, after the tour of the Tlou Energy gas exploration site near Sandveldt farms in Central District, Minister Lefoko said Tlou Energy Company had been operating in the country for 10 years and he found it appropriate to tour their projects and check on how they are progressing.

He said he was happy with the progress at the site and the company had proven that there is gas in the country.

Minister Moagi also said that he found out that one of their wells had been producing gas since 2009 and also he was impressed by the company’s plans and what was on the ground.

The gas project, he said, would benefit the country because it would open up opportunities for a number of other industrial processes.

He said the project would improve the community in the area because the significant amount of water that would be produced as part of the process had the potential to be used for local agriculture which could increase production in farms.   

Tlou Energy, executive director Mr Gabaake Gabaake informed the minister that their exploration started in 2009 and they had already found that there was gas at the site.

He said the burning of the flowing gas had been going on for one year and eight months and there was also a clear trend that the flow rate of the gas was increasing.

What was only left for the company, he said, was to get funds to construct a transmission line to Serowe Botswana Power Corporation sub-station.

Mr Gabaake further said the gas that they were mining could not only generate electricity but could be used to make liquid fuels, different kinds of fertilisers, different kinds of chemicals and could also be bottled for sale.

He said the gas project could create direct or indirect jobs saying once the project took off there would be growth in terms in the industry.

Further, he said when other operators start producing, a lot of activities would take off because of the availability of gas in the country. Ends