8 MW of Prime Power for LNG and helium plant in South Africa

Project Summary

• Location - Virginia, Free State, South Africa 

• Equipment

• 4 x HRYW1275, Yanmar engine

• 4x HRMW1270, MTU engine

• 1 x HRFW200, Iveco engine

• 2 x 33,000ltrs Fuel Tank

• 2 x TRANSFORMERS 400V/11kv 11kV

• Neutral Earth Transformer

• Control Room

• LV & HV cabling

• Onsite HIMOINSA O&M Technical Team

Situation & Objective

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Renergen’s wholly owned subsidiary, Tetra4, is the holder of South Africa’s first onshore petroleum production right.  Tetra4’s Virginia Gas Project is situated in the Free State of South Africa.  The project will produce LNG (liquified natural gas) and liquid helium.

The Plant is Sub Saharan Africa’s first helium facility, making South Africa one of only 8 countries globally to produce and export liquid helium and South Africa’s first onshore LNG operation. 

Helium is required worldwide to manufacture semi-conductors, fibre optic cabling and provides deep cryogenic cooling for the superconducting magnets that are critical components in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices. It is also serves as the only propellant for rocket fuel which enables space travel. There is a global shortage and demand internationally is high.

LNG is produced by purifying natural gas and cooling it down to – 162°C until it liquefies. LNG is a versatile liquid fuel and can be used in the following applications while providing CO2 emission reductions when compared to traditional fossil fuels to aid decarbonisation strategies:

• industrial heating for burners or boilers 

• transport as a substitute to diesel and petrol

• power generation to compliment renewable wind and solar by providing stable base load or peaking power

A natural gas liquefaction plant requires an immense amount of power to run. Extraction, cooling and liquifying on site is an energy-intensive process. 

During the construction process, no electrical connection was available, necessitating Renergen to proceed with a self-build electrical connection to the Eskom grid infrastructure and, in the interim, ensure they had a temporary, prime power solution to ensure timely commissioning of the Phase 1 Virginia gas Project.

Solution

HIMOINSA Southern Africa won the tender for an eight month 8MW rental contract. They successfully provided, in rapid timelines, a competitive, flexible, turnkey power solution.

Rapid Deployment

Local utility Eskom would not be able to provide the dedicated power supply required to the site for a minimum eight months. The HIMOINSA team installed and commissioned a fully functioning power plant within three weeks of the site being ready.

Due to maintaining a well-stocked fleet of rental units locally, HIMOINSA Southern Africa were able to offer flexibility with contract timelines. The units were installed and provisioned on site early to ensure there were no production delays due to lack of power. Extensions to the original contract term were also accommodated when utility power was delayed ensuring there was no disruption to the commissioning timelines Renergen had committed to their customers.

Technical Solution

Eight, fully synchronised generator sets, neutral earth transformers, fuel tanks and a control room, were installed to run the site at 8MW Prime capability, compliant with all health and safety requirements. A 200kVA unit was also provided for temporary use during the construction phase.

 As the massive compressors used for the manufacturing process have large step-loads, it was vital to ensure these did not cause power tripping which would interrupt production capability. The 8MW, 11kv voltage solution ensured sufficient power redundancy.

Turnkey Solution

HIMOINSA provided a fully bespoke service, fuel tanks and fuel piping in the construction phase to 24/7 data monitoring during production, as per the HIMOINSA preventive maintenance protocol.

In strict adherence to health & safety protocols, three HIMOINSA technicians lived on site operating on 8hr rotational shifts.

Cost Competitive

To best meet Renergen’s operational and fiscal requirements HIMOINSA Southern Africa devised a two tier bespoke tariff.

1)Fixed capacity charge for the sunken costs on site

2)Variable running charge for every kWh that the plant generated

This meant that Renergen were able to have generators on site and commissioned in advance of the plant becoming operational, at a low fixed monthly charge. However, Renergen were not forced to pay a fixed electricity charge during this time but had the benefit to pay only for energy that they required and was generated.

The biggest cost of the early energy solution for Renergen was the diesel consumption used during power generation. HIMOINSA generators with Yanmar and MTU Engines have best in class fuel efficiency rating, a claim HIMOINSA Southern Africa were happy to back-up with financial performance liabilities if they did not successfully achieve the fuel efficiency rates committed to.

By incorporating penalties if fuel efficiency levels were not met, paying only for energy that was needed and fixing the capacity charge provided Renergen with the comfort that the plant could be run at a pre-determined cost.

The plant ran efficiently on a fully turnkey solution, including the necessary manpower and operational planning requirements for the contract term, and beyond, until the utility connection was successfully installed, and the temporary power plant decommissioned

Quotes:

Nick Mitchell  I  Chief Operating Officer I Renergen

 “The HIMOINSA Southern Africa team have provided world-class service and support from the very first engagement until the very end of the project. They are extremely customer focused and have been very attentive to our rapidly changing needs ensuring the Virginia Gas Project was always prioritised.”

Matthew Bell  I  Director of Business Development - HIMOINSA Southern Africa

“It was an honour for HIMOINSA Southern Africa to be selected by Renergen for the Tetra4 processing facility and a delight to see Stefano and Nick take this project from inception to operation. This is a great success story for South Africa that we are delighted to have been involved in supporting the project to fruition with an interim, cost effective, quality power solution. We wish the Renergen team all the best in the future with this fantastic project.”

Stefano Marani  I  CEO & Managing Director I Renergen

 “They were there when we needed them, and were instrumental in giving us the power when we needed it. Matt, Martin and the HIMOINSA Southern Africa are great to work with and are very solution driven.”