A potted history11 Jun 2022 07:57
A crackpot history? I have been writing privately to WBI posters who want to knpw about TLOU.
Having a clear blackboard with so much info was a challenge , but I think this sums up my view of the company as concisely as I can.
=====
"2015/2016
Our Karoo basin is a mixture of plots all with coal seams 400m or so below ground.
Selemo , which was started by Kalahari Energy , who sold it to TLOU in a nutshell! More complicated than a direct sale!
Lesedi , the current focus.
Mamba , closest to Orapa , and my favourite for a new gas pipeline when, not if , that is resurrected!
And Boomslang untapped as yet, like Mamba but all 4 have gas galore!
In 2015 we worked on Selemo , and indeed in 2016/2017 we added generators , modified them to run on lower gas flows than they were designed for , and Selemo has been providing local power for Lesedi ever since saving us from buying many barrels of diesel per year.
Selemo took very few months to dewater which was great! It can take years!
BUT Selemo is special in that Kalahari or subsidiary company Sekaname , asked for royalties on any gas or electricity which TLOU were able to sell. The other sites are all royalty free!
TLOU left Selemo for Lesedi which has been our main arena ever since.
Botswana asked for companies to tender for a CBM powered electricity contract.
TG wanted to ender for a low power feed because he did not want to tie us to Botswana if we could sell to surrounding counties on the SAPP network. And he was sure the prices would rise with time!
Kalahari Energy (K/E) created a Botswana office (Sekaname) who became our only rival in the tender process.
They wanted a huge order or they would back off!
The Botswana Power Corporation compromised on tenders for up to 100Mw - satisfactory to K/E - too high for TLOU really!
Newspapers expected BPC to opt for 50 Mw each and TG was prepared to accept that.
They tendered over an 18 month period expecting it to sail through!
BPC messed up the requirements by ruling out all tenderers who had to show they'd successfully supplied CBM power in Botswana before!!!
The whole process was restarted with both companies guarded against bureaucrats!! It took ages!
TLOU carried on regardless , opened up 2 and 1/2 wells at Lesedi and started dewatering the site!
Naming the wells #3, #4 and #5 in the order they were produced #3 was quickly overtaken by #4 which started a couple of months behind.
#5 was not finished off for reasons I don't remember, Maybe the drill was needed on #3?
The dewatering continues to this day , #3 and #5 were shut off to reduce costs during Covid , and the pumps were turned down for the same reason. Pumping water too quickly can wash coal dust down the channels , and build up of finings or silt or dust , can block the channel. Something we sought to avoid! The good news is a long dewatering period suggests lots of nooks and crannies are being drained and once gas starts to appear , like the water ,