South Africa’s Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe says his country is positioning itself as a serious player in the global gas market.
In this regard, Mr. Mantashe said a Gas Amendment Bill will be tabled in Parliament, in line with the appropriate legislative process.
The Bill aims to, among others, attract infrastructure investment for LNG imports, increase exploration, create domestic gas feedstock, diversify the energy mix and reduce carbon emissions.
Gwede Mantashe disclosed this at the opening of the Africa Oil Week 2020 Conference which was held virtual in Cape Town, South Africa, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We will promote the development of a domestic regional gas market. We continue to advance our gas to power projects with Coega Special Econonic Zone (SEZ) identified as the first Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) import terminal. This lays a foundation for gas to power plants and converting existing power plants from diesel to gas,” he observed.
Present and future gas discoveries in South Africa, the Minister mentioned, should find their way to their power plants and other petrochemical facilities.
This, he maintained, would reduce the importation of beneficiated hydrocarbons.
To this end, he noted that a technical working group that would produce a commercial business plan for the development of the LNG import-export facilities across various ports of South Africa has been established.
Liquified Petroluem Gas (LPG), the South African Minerals Resources and Energy Minister opined, is an efficient form of energy for cooking, space heating and water heating, yet its contribution remains to be below par.
He added: “Integral to LPG Expansion Initiative, we have targetted to double LPG consumption over the next five years. Also, we will localise the manufacturing of gas cylinders and appliances.”
He also mentioned that the South African 2020 Gas Master Plan was being developed, explaining that it would consolidate their participation in the development of the SADC Regional Master Plan aimed at strengthening regional co-operation in the creation of a regional gas market.
“Against this backdrop, the military insurgency in the gas rich part of Mozambique concerns us. A solution to bring stability in the affected areas must be found urgently,” he further stated.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com