Friday, September 20, 2024

Eskom and energy and chemical enterprise, Sasol, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to "collaboratively explore and research prospective potential liquified natural gas (LNG) requirements".

That is based on a joint statement by the two companies, following the signing ceremony of the MoU on Friday.

"The collaboration aims to determine the possible volumes that South Africa involves to determine a practical LNG import industry, combined with the enabling infrastructure, and will be facilitated by govt-to-federal government relations in which necessary."

"This initiative concentrates on utilizing gasoline for energy generation to deliver vital base load electrical energy and position gas to be a crucial enabler of re-industrialisation, though also making certain ongoing supply to the industry by unlocking international LNG resources.

"Furthermore, the collaboration will contribute to enhancing South Africa’s energy mix and enable the country's energy transition and decarbonisation," the joint sasol bursaries statement read.

The MoU is expected to "explore sourcing gas within South Africa, the Southern African Development Community region, and other parts of the African continent, in addition to evaluating long-term LNG contracting".

"This will support the gas requirements for Eskom’s planned coal power station repowering and conversion to gas in the long term. The parties will also engage other state entities to enable an LNG value chain in South Africa.

"As part of its revised gas strategy, Sasol is working on enabling the future supply of LNG to South Africa by collaborating with companies such as get more info Eskom, existing and future customers, suppliers, and infrastructure developers.

"The research findings from the first phase of the Sasol-Eskom collaboration will guide the necessary role players and investors required to offer the best prospects for South Africa's energy market, while outlining the challenges associated with the long-term commitments required for LNG imports," the statement said.