Startling statement from Renergen about its helium production

Renergen stated that its helium production was not economically viable until additional wells were connected to the system.

This was contained in Renergen’s quarterly update, which was published on the Stock Exchange News Service (SENS) on Tuesday, 30 September 2025.

To understand why this is such a startling statement, one must examine what Renergen has told the market over the last decade.

Renergen was listed on the JSE in June 2015. It promoted itself as a company that would focus on alternative energy solutions.

Renergen bought 90% of the Virginia Gas Project from Windfall Energy in August 2015 for R650 million. Windfall bought the Virginia Gas Project from Molopo Energy for $1.

The company reported that it discovered helium concentrations of 11% in some cases, making it one of the largest discoveries globally.

In 2016, it announced that it signed a deal with Afrox to supply it with helium. Commercial sales were set to commence in 2018.

In 2021, Renergen’s share price surged after it announced the discovery of numerous wells with helium concentrations exceeding 1%.

The company’s share price peaked in 2022 after Renergen announced that phase 1 of the plant had been commissioned.

However, things started going backwards when Renergen failed to deliver on its lofty helium promises.

Years after Renergen’s first deadline to commercially produce helium, it still has not sold any helium. There is also no sign that this will change soon.

It has missed one deadline after another, with excuses ranging from cooling equipment problems to the Chinese New Year delaying production.

What is particularly concerning is that Renergen CEO Stefano Marani previously said they were producing helium and selling it to clients.

On 12 August 2024, Marani told Zunaid Suleman from Benzinga All Access that the company reached a significant milestone in helium production.

He said Renergen was around a year behind schedule for turning on the helium. However, they had now done so.

“We have now finally managed to get the helium module on. We are producing liquid helium and putting it into our customers’ tanks,” he said.

Marani added that he was “really proud to say that we are deriving revenue from the helium as well”.

“That is the proof of concept essentially closed. That brings us in as the catalyst into the second phase,” he said.

The Renergen CEO stated that this was a significant milestone, making them one of only a handful of liquid helium plants globally.

Despite Marani’s claims, Renergen’s official results have shown that it has never produced revenue from helium sales.

Considering Marani’s previous claims, it is also surprising that the company now states that it is not yet commercially viable to produce helium.

“Helium becomes economically viable once the flow rate has increased from the additional wells being tied in,” Renergen said.

“We have therefore not run the helium operations in order to reduce operating costs on the helium.”

This contradictory information coming from the energy company concerned many investors and shareholders.

Some even suggested that Renergen does not have the reserves it claimed to have, which is why it could never produce and sell helium.

Marani dismissed allegations that the Virginia Gas Project lacks significant helium reserves, stating that these claims demonstrate a lack of understanding about their assets.

Renergen and its CEO’s statements about helium production