South Africa's First Commercial LNG and Liquid Helium Plant Ordered

South African natural gas and helium producer Renergen announce today the final milestone leading to beginning of construction of the Virginia Gas Project. The company has named the appointment of an equipment supplier for the LNG and liquid helium plant.

Western Shell Cryogenic Equipment Co. (“WSCE”) of China has been awarded the contract to supply the technology and equipment for the plant alongside EPCM Bonisana (Pty) Ltd (“EPCM”) who will install the pipeline and manage the interface between the two installations.

WSCE has been manufacturing small scale LNG plants since 2004. “ WSCE has a wealth of experience in relation to the manufacturing of critical components for cryogenics, and we look forward to seeing Renergen and WSCE making liquid natural gas and liquid helium in South Africa a reality.” Renergen noted in a statement released today.

The plant is expected to be operational within the first half of 2021 and will see the plant produce up to 2,700 GJ of liquid natural gas and 350 kg of liquid helium per day. This will make the plant the first commercial LNG facility in the country. The plant will be modularised and constructed in sizes of standard shipping containers for ease of transport and installation on site.