JOHANNESBURG, September 23, 2024 – South African energy company Sasol and state utility Eskom have signed an MoU to jointly research the country’s LNG requirements to reinforce the long-term certainty of gas supply, the companies announced on Friday.
The collaboration aims to determine the volumes and infrastructure that South Africa requires to establish a viable LNG import market, with the primary focus of the initiative being on natural gas as an energy source for power generation.
The MoU will 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. Besides providing fuel to generate base load electricity for South Africa’s industry, the companies see LNG imports as a means to fulfilling the gas requirements for Eskom’s planned coal power station repowering and their conversion to gas in the long term.
Sasol and Eskom will also engage other state entities to enable an LNG value chain in South Africa. Their collaboration was signed with the full support of the Minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, and will be facilitated by government-to-government relations where necessary.
“By leveraging our combined technical, operational and project execution expertise, we are committed to enhancing regional energy security and driving development. In doing so, we will unlock new growth opportunities and help drive the transition to a more sustainable energy future for our country,” said Simon Baloyi, president and CEO of Sasol.