Sasol and Central Energy Fund to accelerate gas development in South Africa

Sasol and the Central Energy Fund (CEF) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on accelerating the development of gas solutions in South Africa.

“At the core of achieving our strategic mandate of ensuring security of supply is domestic job creation and an approach to the just energy transition that fosters increasing domestic value addition. In this regard, gas remains a critical component in our country’s just energy transition journey, and our continued collaboration with Sasol in unlocking growth in the gas space remains critical for us in contributing to the achievement of an optimal energy mix,” said Ishmael Poolo, Group Chief Executive, CEF.

Key focus areas will include future gas supply options, and enabling infrastructure critical to sustain and grow the gas market. Both companies will explore developing multiple low-cost gas import locations around the country.

“Gas is instrumental in enabling a just energy transition in South Africa and requires immediate attention to introduce additional supply to South Africa. Currently, the country’s gas supply comes from the Pande-Temane gas fields in Mozambique, which will need to be supplemented in the long term, as these reserves begin to mature,” said Priscillah Mabelane, Executive Vice-President, Energy Business, Sasol.

Preliminary global benchmark case studies indicate that countries experiencing growth in demand for gas have opted for increasing the number of import locations to serve regional markets via pipeline. A successful example is India, which currently has six liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in operation, with another four currently under development to become operational by 2023.