Energy Fund concern over gas shortage at Mossel Bay

SOUTH Africa’s flagship gasto-liquids (GTL) refinery at Mossel Bay could run out of natural gas within two years when offshore reserves dry up, a senior energy official said on Tuesday.

The Mossel Bay GTL plant, one of the world’s largest, is operated by state-owned national oil and gas company PetroSA, a subsidiary of the government’s Central Energy Fund.

“We are in a position where between 2020 and 2022 we might not have any gas available,” said Luvo Makasi, chairman of the Fund’s board.

He said the Fund was looking to source feedstock elsewhere but did not provide any details, after PetroSA failed to secure additional gas reserves in a $1 billion offshore drilling campaign.

The drilling campaign was discontinued after poor results.

The Mossel Bay plant accounts for around 6% of the country’s refining capacity but is operating at less than half of its capacity of 45 000 barrels a day of oil equivalent due to dwindling reserves. – Reuters

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