The South African Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, said that the natural gas utilisation and monetisation are on the forefront of the country’s agenda.
He disclosed this during the Africa Oil Week Virtual Summit Thursday. The Minister said that the present and future gas discoveries in South Africa should be used for its power plants and other petrochemical facilities.
The Gas Amendment Bill will be discussed in parliament, according to the appropriate legislative process. The Bill will, among others, attract infrastructure investment for LNG imports; increase exploration; create domestic gas feedstock; diversify the energy mix and reduce carbon emissions.
South Africa will also look to expand the use of LPG for cooking, space heating and water heating. According to him, the current contribution of gas to the energy mix is below par.
Excerpts from the Minister’s submission at the virtual summit:
“We are re-positioning South Africa to be a serious player in the global gas market. We will promote the development of a domestic and regional gas market. We continue to advance our Gas to Power projects with the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ) identified as the first Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import terminal. This lays a foundation for Gas to Power plants and converting existing power plants from Diesel to Gas.”
“This will reduce the importation of beneficiated hydrocarbons. To this end, a Technical Working Group that will produce a commercial business plan for the development of the LNG import-export facilities across various ports of our country, has been established.”
“The national Gas Master Plan 2020 is being developed. This will consolidate our participation in the development of the SADC Regional Gas Master Plan aimed at strengthening regional cooperation in the creation of a regional gas market.”
“Integral to the LPG Expansion Initiative, we have set a target to double LPG consumption over the next five years. Also localize the manufacturing of gas cylinders and appliances.”
