Locally manufactured products for new gas, helium project

Locally manufactured transformers, switchgear and substations are being supplied to South Africa’s new onshore natural gas and helium project, Tetra4, by local electrical equipment specialist Zest WEG.

The company has been contracted to supply a 7 MVA 33/11 kV transformer and two 1.5 MVA 6.6/0.4 kV units, manufactured locally at its transformer facility in Wadeville. It will also supply the 33 kV, 11 kV and 6.6 kV medium voltage switchgear which will be installed into two 6 m containerised substations, locally manufactured by Zest WEG at its Heidelberg facility.

“The medium voltage switchgear will be installed in the modular substations in Heidelberg, where a factory acceptance test will be conducted before equipment is transported to site,” says Zest WEG sector specialist - oil and gas business development Lukas Barnard.

“There have been many benefits working with local companies including additional flexibility and control, while allowing us to react quickly to changes and challenges that arise as we roll out the project,” says Renergen COO Nick Mitchell.

“Any support of local business has far-reaching economic benefits for the communities in which they operate and this remains a critical balance for us to achieve in a project, where not all the components can be manufactured locally or made available locally. It also reduces currency risk by minimising our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations.”

Renergen also emphasises the advantage of Zest WEG’s package solutions capability, especially in a project such as this with multiple streams of work that need to be coordinated across multi-disciplinary teams and says that Zest WEG’s project manager added considerable value in terms of management, procurement and project flow.

He also notes the advantages of the containerised and E-House modular substations in fast-track projects. By manufacturing the units in a dedicated facility, Zest WEG was able to provide an efficient solution while reducing the on-site responsibilities of the project developers.