Rhino Oil and Gas – EIA for Exploration Right (ER) (ER reference: 378)

Rhino Oil and Gas Exploration South Africa (ROGESA) has lodged an application for an Exploration Right (ER) to explore for natural gas in the northern Free State Province, South Africa. The ER application has been submitted to the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA) on behalf of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) in terms of Section 79 of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (No. 28 of 2002) (MPRDA).

The ER extends across an area of ~350 000 hectares and includes ~ 1200 properties. ROGESA’s primary objective is to gather an enhanced dataset to inform future exploration activities. Proposed works includes an aeromagnetic survey and drilling a minimum of two (2) exploration wells in the ER area to confirm presence of gas.

SLR Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd has been appointed as the independent environmental assessment practitioner responsible for undertaking the required environmental assessment and conducting the public participation process. The application was subject to a scoping and environmental impact assessment process as stipulated in the EIA Regulations, 2014 made under Section 24(5) of the NEMA.

Status

Rhino Oil and Gas Exploration South Africa (Rhino) was granted Environmental Authorisation on 17 July 2025 for the above-mentioned project in terms of the National Environment Management Act, 1998(No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA) and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations 2014 (as amended).

In terms of Regulation 4(4a) of the National Appeal Regulations 2025, an applicant must "notify, and make a copy of the appeal available to, registered and affected parties where applicable, and to affected organs of state, within 5 calendar days of the expiry of the 20-day (appeal) period", which was on 12 August 2025.

As such, on behalf of Rhino, notice is hereby given that appeals were lodged against the Environmental Authorisation. Copies of these appeals can be viewed or downloaded below.