South Africans tend to undervalue the country’s oil and gas resources, but investment in the development of these resources may amount to more than R200 billion in the next three to four years.
The country also needs more refinery capacity since the PetroSA facility in Mossel Bay is currently standing idle. However she hopes a partnership for the refurbishment of the refinery will be announced before the end of the financial year. That will enable the recommissioning within two years. The find is near the Rompco pipeline, which transports gas from Mozambique to Sasol’s Secunda plant. The pipeline also runs close to the power stations and can be used to transport gas to for those operations to use instead of coal. The CEF has an interest in the pipeline through its subsidiary, EGoli Gas.
She says as an engineer she knows renewable energy such as solar and wind power cannot provide baseload and gas is needed to stabilise the system, together with nuclear and clean coal.According to the Petroleum Agency of South Africa, also a subsidiary of the CEF, the country has resources totalling 27 billion barrels of oil and 60 tcf of gas offshore and a further 200 tcf onshore, including shale gas.
Noah says SA developing its own resources will also improve the balance of payments and create much-needed jobs.