JSE-listed Renergen, which plans a Nasdaq IPO, has sold and exported its first helium production, and liquid natural gas (LNG) production has increased by 22% from the previous reporting period, it said in a quarterly update Tuesday.

The owner of South Africa’s first onshore gas production company said also that the Springbok Solar legal matter was heard on February 20, 2025, and judgment has been reserved.

Meanwhile liquidity plans to complete Phase 1C, which aims to enhance helium and gas production to bring the plant nameplate production capacity, were close to finalisation, Renergen's CEO Stefano Marani said in the update.

The group said it was also in the process of obtaining a waiver from the US-based International Development Finance Corporation, from a breach of a debt covenant - Renergen had an outstanding debt of R546.4 million to the IFC at the end of February 2025, which it is scheduled to repay in tranches by 2031.

On the first helium exports, the group said the long-awaited event of filling a helium container with liquid had occurred post the quarter to March, after an alternate solution to the challenges in cooling large iso-containers to the extreme temperatures needed for liquid helium storage (-269 degrees Celsius) was implemented.

LNG production increased by 21.97% to 1 371 tons from the previous quarter's production of 1 124 tons reported.

In the dispute between Tetra4 and Springbok Solar (RF), regarding a solar development encroaching upon Tetra4's production right, Tetra4 instituted urgent proceedings at the Free State Division of the High Court on September 26, seeking an interim interdict restraining the solar developer from proceeding with construction activities.

Renergen said the dispute arose from the solar developer's alleged failure to obtain the requisite Section 53 consent under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. The Court was expected to deliver its ruling in due course, Marani said in a statement.

Tetra4 had also simultaneously filed a section 96(1) appeal with the Department of Mineral Resources against the flawed approval the solar developer obtained, as it only covered gold, silver, and uranium and not petroleum, which was the basis of the dispute.

Meanwhile, Marani said they were working on a “comprehensive liquidity solution” that should enable the timely completion of Phase 1, to ramp the facility up to nameplate capacity.

“We anticipate these negotiations being concluded in the coming weeks,” Marani said.

On the exploration front, he said the integration of the reinterpreted seismics with the aeromagnetic and gravity data into the geological model was undertaken during this period.

“This work is key, as it forms the basis to ensure we optimise targeting for drilling and improve flow with the new data we have acquired. As with all upstream campaigns, the more data that can be obtained and analysed, the better the drilling results, which is laying a solid foundation for Phase 1C,” he said.

No drilling was undertaken in the quarter while the data was being analysed and targets refined.

On information relating to Renergen’s debt, the group said on its website that a R150m loan it had reached with Standard Bank South Africa in August 2024 would be repayable “on or the earliest of the receipt of proceeds on the Renergen proposed Nasdaq IPO or August 30, 2025.”

Renergen’s share price traded up 0.34% to R6.43 Tuesday morning. The price is well down from R11.02 at which it traded a year ago.

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