Firm to embark on $780 million gas project in Gwayi

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Shangani Energy Exploration (SEE) will embark on a $780 million gas project and build a 400 megawatt power station in Gwayi, north-west of the country which would boost Zimbabwe’s flagging energy supplies, a company official said on Wednesday.

HARARE — Shangani Energy Exploration (SEE) will embark on a $780 million gas project and build a 400 megawatt power station in Gwayi, north-west of the country which would boost Zimbabwe’s flagging energy supplies, a company official said on Wednesday.

SEE is jointly owned by ferrochrome producer Zimasco and its parent company, China’s Sinosteel Corporation with an 84,81% stake, while the remainder is held by Paul Tromp. Zimasco services director, Roger Williams told delegates attending a parliamentary seminar that the company had applied to the mines ministry for the renewal of its special grants and was awaiting approval.

The company has three production grants and three exploration grants and Williams said work would begin within six months of receiving regulatory approval.

“As soon as we get approval we will get back to our principals who need to go back to the bankers. Everything has been set,” he told journalists after the seminar.

Williams said the company would also conduct an environmental impact assessment and at the same time bring in drilling equipment from China.

The initial concession owned by the company held an estimated 660 billion cubic metres of gas, but government reduced the size of the land, Williams said.

The project will be carried out in two phases with the first expected to take 18 months to complete at a cost of $50 million.

“We want to start in the area where we have drilled four wells and done some basic testing and we need to do addition testing and further exploration in that area to get a better understanding of availability of coal bed methane gas (in the reduced area),” Williams said.

This would entail drilling of 38 wells and construction of a 12 megawatt power station while the second phase would be over four to five years and would require drilling of an additional 1 000 wells.

– The Source