INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Green Technology
South Africa reveals its
blueprint for its energy future
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T
he South African cabinet has
approved the Integrated Resource
Plan (IRP 2019) that plotted the
path for the nation’s generation technology
mix to assuage the current energy crisis in
the country.
At Africa Oil Week, its Minister of Minerals
Resources and Energy, Honourable Gwede
Mantashe, outlined the role that oil and gas
will play going forwards. He pointed out that
hydrocarbons, particularly gas, will be an
important part of the energy mix in the future.
“We intend to establish the first LNG hub
in the Coega IDZ, in the Eastern Cape
Province,” he said. “I have been talking to
investors at this conference and they should
take the opportunity to engage with our
officials on this matter as it is an opportunity
not only to invest, but to also help develop
the gas industry in this country.”
Infrastructure plans to harness
gas potential
The plan is that the first LNG import terminal
at the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ)
site will lay the foundation for a breed of
new gas to power plants as well as driving
the conversion of existing power plants from
diesel to gas.
It is also intended as a base to import
feedstock for the gas to liquids refinery in
Mossel Bay.
Mantashe explained that South Africa gas to
power technologies will provide the flexibility
that is needed to back up the intermittent
nature of renewable energy and meet peak
demand during busy periods.
“In the short term the opportunity is to
pursue gas import options, in the future,
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local and regional gas resources will allow
for scaling up within manageable risk
levels,” he said.
“Indigenous gas like coal-bed methane
and, ultimately, local recoverable shale and
coastal gas are options we are considering.
On the Upstream, work is underway on
a Petroleum Resources Development Bill,
which will be before Cabinet soon. Our oil
and gas needs to be harnessed to deliver
modern energy services to all households
and businesses. Our gas must power plants
and other petrochemical facilities in our
countries as it reaches for export markets.
This will ensure that we do not always import
beneficiated hydrocarbons.”
Upstream aspirations for
South Africa
On the regional front, Mantashe said that
they have noted with great interest and a
sense of admiration, the major gas finds in
the Eastern part of the continent, especially
in Mozambique and Tanzania.
“We remain patently aware that one of
the oil companies in South Africa played a
pivotal role in the monetisation of the earlier
gas finds in Mozambique,” he said. “Earlier
this year we also announced hydrocarbon
finds by Total and its partners off the Mossel
Bay coast. We are confident that this find
will spur further interest in the upstream
potential of South Africa.
“We have taken note of global industry shifts
and are encouraged that many countries
in our continent have set themselves the
vision to enter the global gas market and
promote the development of a domestic
and regional gas market. Natural gas can
improve the efficiencies of many industries
currently using sub-optimal fuel sources in
their production processes and resulting in
a turnaround in the industrial capacity and
demand in the region.” n
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