Oil and gas

Sasol is a world leader in liquid fuels.

International chemicals and energy company Sasol has several large plants in Mpumalanga and plays a major role in the economy of Mpumalanga. Sasol Gas is one of the four Sasol operations at Secunda, supplying natural gas to Sasol Synfuels and buying Sasol Synfuels’ methane-rich pipeline gas to sell to customers in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.

Sasol will be a key player when national government finalises policy on biofuels. Statutory minimums for biodiesel in diesel and bioethanol in ethanol will give certainty to producers and boost production levels. Sasol is already making 285 000kl of absolute alcohol in ethanol from sugar fermentation annually. About 60-million litres of liquid fuel is produced each day at the coal-to-liquid plant run at Secunda. Sasol has finished its mine replacement programme and feedstock is secure until the year 2050.

There is increased interest in gas as a source of energy in South Africa although the country currently only has one gasto-liquids plant.

Independent Power Producers Programme: www.ipp-projects.co.za Petroleum Agency SA: www.petroleumagency.co.za PetroSA: www.petrosa.co.za

A biomass project has started at Sappi’s Ngodwana mill.

Much of the large gas resource of Mozambique is piped to the industrial heartland of South SECTOR INSIGHT Africa and the promoters of the Nkomazi Special Economic Zone believe that the fact that a natural gas pipeline passes through the SEZ is a big selling point.

The Liquefied Natural Gas Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (LNG IPPPP) is part of the broader programme of the National Department of Energy which encourages private investment in renewable energy, namely the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). The total allocated to gas-to-power in the national power plan is 3 726MW, of which 3 000MW is for LNG.

Another part of the REIPPPP is alternative sources such as the conversion of biomass to energy. At Sappi’s Ngodwana mill, a 25MW project is underway.

Transnet Pip elines runs a 3 8 0 0 k m n e t w o r k o f underground, high-pressure petroleum and gas pipelines throughout the eastern parts of South Africa. The company’s sophisticated multi-product pipeline (NMPP) between the coast and Gauteng transports a range of liquid products.