CAPE TOWN, November 5 – Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe on Tuesday urged investors at the Africa Oil Week in Cape Town to consider investing in the planned new liquefied natural gas hub at Coega in the Eastern Cape.
“Investors at this conference should take the opportunity to engage with our officials on this matter,” Mantashe said.
“Herein is an opportunity not only to invest but also help the gas industry in this country.”
Mantashe said setting up a first LGN import terminal would lay the foundation for new gas to power plants in South Africa and help to ensure the conversion of existing power plants from diesel to gas and serve as an import point for feedstock for the gas to liquids refinery in Mossel Bay.
He said his department would soon unveil a framework for supporting the project, as well as an amendment to the Gas Act.
“Gas to power technologies will provide the flexibility required to complement intermittent renewable energy and meet demand during peaking hours. While in the short term the opportunity is to pursue gas import options, local and regional gas resources will allow for scaling up within manageable risk levels.”
South Africa’s new Integrated Resource Plan foresees a key role for gas in the country’s energy mix, starting in 2024, with the construction of new gas to power plants and the conversion of Eskom’s diesel turbines to gas.
Mantashe refers to gas as “game-changer”, and stressed: “Our Gas must power plants and other petrochemical facilities in our countries, as it reaches for export markets. ”
