South Africa and Qatar Petroleum (QP) are having “extensive negotiations” following the country’s evaluation of its energy requirements and plans to increase future gas usage, ambassador Faizel Moosa has said.
Speaking to Gulf Times recently, Moosa said South Africa wants to get a concession with Qatar once it raises liquefied natural gas (LNG) output capacity to 110mn tonnes per year. It is also seeking QP’s expertise on a gas exploration project 170km off the shores of South Africa’s Mossel Bay, he continued.
“South Africa is evaluating its energy requirements because the energy ministers of Southern Africa have decided to approach the energy requirements of the South continent as a collective.
“In terms of its energy mix, South Africa plans to increase its gas usage. We do take environmental issues very seriously. We’ve embarked extensively on the renewable energy side, so you’ll see PV (photovoltaic) and wind energy already in the process and the next would be gas,” Moosa explained.
He emphasised that South Africa is moving towards environmentally-friendly energy generation. Currently, gas usage only forms 3% of the total energy mix in South Africa, Moosa noted.
“Qatar becomes important because we want to get a portion of its LNG when you increase next year, so we can move our energy mix in the gas sector and increase it quite significantly,” the ambassador pointed out.
On its current energy mix, Moosa said South Africa is minimising the use of coal because of its negative impact on the environment, hence the expansion towards LNG.
“For that, we are obviously not geared at the moment in terms for infrastructure for gas, therefore, we would need the expertise of Qatar to come on board to assist us financially and their expertise because they know gas.
“There’s been extensive negotiations between QP and South Africa, so when Qatar increases its LNG production capacity to 110mn tonnes per year, we are trying to get a concession,” Moosa stressed.
Moosa also said one of the most highly-anticipated energy-related projects in South Africa is Total’s gas find in the Brulpadda well. On its website, Total said it made a significant gas condensate discovery on the Brulpadda prospects, located on Block 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin, 175km off the southern coast of South Africa.
“The Block 11B/12B covers an area of 19,000sq km, with water depths ranging from 200m to 1,800m, and is operated by Total with a 45% working interest, alongside Qatar Petroleum (25%), CNR international (20%), and Main Street, a South African consortium (10%),” the website said.
Moosa added, “We don’t have our own gas or hydrocarbon sources, so certainly this gas find would be a game changer for our country. Currently, we import different types of fuels, and so this development will give us a lot of independence and energy security in the long run.”
