21/03/2025
Big oil find in Limpopo? Or just false hope?
Troubling questions for Booi Brothers about their exploration in Vhurivhuri
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 gp0as 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.
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
