Big oil find in Limpopo? Or just false hope?

The site where it is claimed oil has been discovered, about 50km from Thohoyandou. Photo supplied

Social media has been abuzz in recent weeks with reports that massive oil and gas deposits have been discovered on the eastern side of Limpopo bordering the Kruger National Park.

It was claimed that drilling to explore these reserves had been completed and that significant hydrocarbon deposits were discovered. But is it true?

At first, many local residents dismissed it as just another hoax. But a quick fact-check revealed that while there is some truth to the reports, the extent of the oil and gas deposits is uncertain.

The claims originate from press releases issued three months ago by Booi Holdings, a company that has been exploring gas and oil deposits in the region for several years.

In December Booi Brothers Petroleum (BBP), a subsidiary of Booi Holdings, announced it had made a “significant hydrocarbon discovery”. The company successfully drilled the country’s first officially recognised hydrocarbon (gas and oil) well near Vhurivhuri village, roughly 50 km northeast of Thohoyandou.

In an “update from the project manager” it is claimed that drilling, carried out by operator Torque Africa Group, had reached a depth of 1,100 metres. The target depth was 1,300 metres. The project was driven by a team of experts, including geologists, geophysicists and remote sensing specialists, all with international experience, states the website.

“The crew has detected substantial hydrocarbon reserves, aligning with initial expectations,” the statement said. It also promised that once Well D-512 was fully drilled, BBP would release a comprehensive report detailing the discovery. “Based on the results, a decision will be made regarding future operations,” it stated.

Who is Booi Brothers Petroleum?

Booi Holdings, which describes itself as a “family-managed business”, was registered in May 2006. It lists its activities as “project management, planning and scheduling; civil/building services, recruitment and labour broking”. Its clients include Eskom, Anglo American and the De Beers Group of Companies.

BBP, its subsidiary, was only established in 2013, with Phindulo Peter Booi listed as chief executive. On 22 July 2014, BBP was granted exploration rights in the Mutale and Malamulele districts, covering an area of just over 30,000 hectares.

On 1 November 2017, just before its exploration permit expired, BBP applied for a renewal, which was granted. But little exploration appears to have taken place and, at the end of 2021, the company applied for a second renewal of what is referred to as a Principal Right. This was granted in February 2022, but with slightly modified conditions. The area BBP was allowed to explore was reduced to 19,547 hectares, specifically excluding areas such as the Mphaphuli Nature Reserve.

The second renewal was valid for only two years, ending on 2 December 2023. It appears that BBP applied for a third (and final) renewal, but no such records are available.

A Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) was completed in mid-2021, reportedly confirming the presence of a “functional petroleum system” in the Limpopo Soutpansberg Basin. While the specific details were not made publicly available, the study suggested the presence of organic-rich source rocks capable of generating hydrocarbons, as well as reservoir rocks capable of storing them.

Peter Booi was quoted in a September 2021 interview with Weekly SA Mirror as saying that the gas and oil find in Limpopo would help ease South Africa’s power challenges and create thousands of jobs.

Booi invited more investors to come on board, claiming that about 3.1 trillion cubic metres of recoverable gas were available in the area.

In June 2024, BBP began drilling in an area identified as ER262. A December 2024 update on its website indicated that drilling would soon be completed, which aligns with reports from Vhurivhuri residents that the project is nearing completion.

Local residents left out

When Booi Brothers representatives first arrived in the rural village of Vhurivhuri a few years ago, telling the community about the gas and oil deposits, they sparked optimism and excitement. The poverty-stricken community believed the development would bring job opportunities, improved education for young people and a better quality of life for all residents.

But based on recent developments, their expectations have not been met.

Tshamano Simba, a concerned community member, said in an interview last week that things were not being handled properly.

“When this mining project was launched, we were made to believe it would change our lives for the better, as we would gain employment and the village would be developed, but we are beginning to doubt if this will ever happen,” he said.

Simba said they were told to register companies and encouraged young people to pursue studies that would be useful for the project. “With the drilling, we understood that we did not have the expertise, so we were not worried when a company from outside was hired for the job,” he said. But tensions rose when a security company from Gauteng was brought in to do work that locals could have done.

“This was the first sign that we were not getting a piece of the pie. There are many local security companies here, yet they were not given work. As a community, we were shocked again when the surrounding wall was constructed using only foreign labourers. When we enquired, we were told they were working on a voluntary basis,” he said.

Simba called for transparency and greater community involvement. “Things are not being done the right way, and as a community, we may be forced to stop the whole project and start over. This is our project, and we should have a say in every step,” he said.

The local traditional council echoed concerns about a lack of transparency.

Tsumbedzo Sumbana, secretary of the local traditional council, said they were unhappy with the way the project was being run.

“We were very excited when Booi Brothers presented the project. As a village, we saw development coming, we saw jobs for locals, and we hoped for vast improvements in education and quality of life. But now, we are starting to doubt that this will happen in our lifetime,” he said.

Sumbana said they had called for an urgent meeting of representatives of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, their senior traditional leader Thovhele Gole Mphaphuli, Booi Brothers, and others “to iron out all outstanding matters”.

Concerns over transparency

Attempts by Limpopo Mirror to contact a BBP spokesperson proved difficult. Two weeks ago, questions were sent to the only email address listed on Booi Holdings’ website. Despite follow-up emails, no response was received. The website provides no other contact details, such as an office phone number. A message sent via BBP’s Facebook page also went unanswered.

One of the questions posed to BBP concerned the environmental impact of its operations. The project manager’s December update mentioned that the drilling site had to be relocated due to “environmental considerations”. It also noted that the new location “presented its own geological challenges, including multiple water encounters that slowed the drilling process”.

BBP was asked what these environmental considerations were and whether the drilling activities posed any risk of contaminating underground water resources.

Another update on its website states that the discovery of hydrocarbons “has prompted additional safety measures, including mandatory gas mask usage”. The company was asked how it managed the risk of dangerous gases escaping into the atmosphere.

The lack of communication from BBP has not gone unnoticed.

Booi Brothers features in the 2024 report of the Centre for Economic Rights (CER) on onshore gas financing in South Africa. The CER, a South African civic organisation, describes itself as “activist lawyers who defend the right of communities and civil society organisations to an environment that is not harmful to health or wellbeing, for present and future generations”.

BBP was listed as one of the companies the CER struggled to contact to access details of its granted rights. Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) applications to Petroleum Agency SA (PASA) also failed to yield results.

“This lack of transparency raises concerns about the accessibility of information regarding onshore gas activities in South Africa,” the report stated.

One of the CER’s attorneys, Paul Lado, responded to a question last week and said that the CER had since received some of the information, such as BBP’s exploration rights, from PASA. He added that they are awaiting the Environmental Authorisation documents from PASA and documents about the third renewal of the exploration rights.

“We are uncertain of who the Environmental Assessment Practitioner for Booi Brothers is,” he said. He confirmed that CER has also been unable to contact BBP directly and had to get the information via PASA.

Published with the Limpopo Mirror

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