Tlou Energy has made excellent progress over recent months and remains on track to get gas fired power into the grid in Botswana later this year.
Tlou’s Managing Director, Mr Tony Gilby commented, “The company has made excellent progress over recent months and we are getting very close to first revenue. Having direct access to the power grid opens up our gas field to a huge market. It has taken hard work and significant investment over many years to get to this point and we look forward to delivering power and earning first revenue for the Company as soon as possible.”
Lesedi Power Project
Tlou is developing a 10MW power generation facility at its Lesedi operations base in central Botswana. The company plans to sell electricity into the power grid later this year and then expand rapidly. Tlou is flowing gas and has a fully functional operations base about 100km west of Serowe. The operations base is located on Tlou’s own 4,000-hectare property. The recently constructed 100km 66kV power line allows direct access into the regional power grid.
Key remaining items to completed prior to first power sales include finishing the substation at the Lesedi site, installation of generators, completing the short gas gathering line (from the gas wells to the generators), energising the power line and sale of first electricity. Minor finishing works on the transmission line and the addition of switchgear at Serowe will also be completed prior to first power. The initial target is ~2MW of power, followed by rapid expansion to 10MW, generating approximately $10m in revenue per annum (i.e. approx. $1m per MW p.a.) All key approvals are in place including environmental assessments, production licence, power generation licence and the Power Purchase Agreement. Electricity will be generated using gas from Tlou’s gas field. Tlou has a significant gas resource which has been certified by independent experts SRK Consulting (Australasia) Pty Ltd. Tlou holds a 100% interest over approximately 9,000km2 of exploration permits including a 900km2 production licence. There are two main coal seams that Tlou are focused on, the Lower Morupule and the Serowe play – each covering about 1,800km2 within Tlou’s 100% owned acreage. The Company is currently concentrating on the Lower Morupule play. Tlou has an extensive geological database including well data, seismic data and reprocessed aeromagnetic data. The Government of Botswana remains very supportive and Tlou’s power can help to reduce reliance on expensive imported power. In addition to supplying power in Botswana, the Company may sell electricity regionally via the Southern African Power Pool, opening up an even bigger market for Tlou’s electricity. Tlou is aiming to be a vertically integrated gas to power company owning 100% of both the upstream (gas production) and downstream (generation) sides of the operation. Post period end the Company raised $1,139,403 via an entitlement offer. In addition, the Company is in discussions with several strategic parties to secure the remaining funds required for project completion. [bse.co.bw]
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