The state energy company, the director general of the Central Energy Fund (CEF) group, Dr Ishmael Poole This week highlighted oil and gas developments in southern Africa, including oil discoveries in Namibia, oil and gas drilling in Zimbabwe, oil and gas discoveries and drilling in South Africa, as well as the progress of its first commercial liquefied natural gas plant. .
In February, the energy and petrochemical multinational Shell, through the Graff project, in Namibia, and the energy multinational TotalEnergies, through the Venus project, also in Namibia, made major oil discoveries in the region of the Development Community of Southern Africa, he noted in a speech. during the African Energy Week.
TotalEnergies and its partners have also announced discoveries in blocks 11B and 12B offshore Mossel Bay over the past few years, Poolo said.
“On September 5, TotalEnergies submitted its production right application to our oil regulator. This demonstrates its commitment to invest in and be part of the development of South Africa’s oil and gas sector. The country is fully committed to supporting TotalEnergies and its partners as this project moves forward,” he added.
In addition, oil and gas exploration company Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas on August 12 mobilized a drilling rig to drill Block 2B of the Gazania-1 prospect in the Orange Basin in the west coast of the North Cape. The drilling campaign is expected to begin soon and will target approximately 300 million barrels of light oil resources.
“This [project] further confirms the companies’ commitment to invest in South Africa’s upstream oil and gas sector and assist the government in its drive to address the socio-economic challenges facing our country.
“As regulators, we will be following this development closely and will provide support to Eco Atlantic to ensure the delivery of its planned drilling program,” Poolo stressed.
Meanwhile, upstream oil and gas company Invictus Energy expects to start drilling its first oil and gas exploration well in the northern part of Zimbabwe, at the Mukuyu-1 prospect. The drilling campaign is expected to start this year and the Mukuyu-1 prospect has been estimated to cost around $16 million. It is also part of the Invictus Cahora Bassa project.
Locally, domestic helium and natural gas producer Renergen recently announced that the Virginia Gas Project plant in the Free State is operational and beginning deliveries to customers, he noted.
“The Virginia gas plant is South Africa’s first commercial LNG plant. This is an important milestone in the country’s drive to reduce its carbon footprint. Through the CEF, the government is in the process of acquire a 10% stake in the project by investing significant capital in this gas discovery.
“Africa, Southern Africa and Southern Africa are well endowed with energy sources including coal, oil, gas, renewable energy and associated mineral resources. Africa’s future prosperity depends in large part on addressing energy gaps, providing affordable energy for the population, homes and reliable energy for businesses,” said Poolo.
In South Africa, the Quarterly Labor Force Survey for the first quarter of this year puts the unemployment rate at 64% for those aged 15 to 24 and 42% for those aged 25 to 34, while the current official national unemployment rate stands at 34.5%.
“Electricity shortages reduce a person’s probability of being employed in a highly skilled job by 35% to 41% and self-employment by 32% to 47%. Furthermore, economists tell us that, for reduce unemployment by at least 1%, a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) must grow above 4% for a year.
“South Africa’s current and projected GDP growth levels, coupled with an unreliable electricity supply, are not adequate to deal with the time bomb that is youth employment. We must use all available resources and reach all actors to address South Africa’s energy challenges, including coal, oil, gas and renewables, as the basis of an energy-rich future,” he stressed.
Energy is the backbone of economic development. Evidence suggests a positive correlation between increased generating capacity and economic growth. As economies grow, so does the demand for energy. If energy is limited, GDP growth is reduced, Poolo said.
In addition, the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement offers an opportunity to develop an integrated energy system. For South Africa, there is an opportunity to import LNG at Coega and Richards Bay.
“CEF is in an advanced collaboration process with the National Hydrocarbon Company ENH in Mozambique and with [energy and chemicals company] Sasol in South Africa to carry out this project,” he added.
Meanwhile, Poolo highlighted changes in energy policies around the world, including in Germany, which since the first quarter of this year has restarted its coal-fired power plants to offset the reduction in its natural gas supply from Russia , and is also extending the life of its nuclear power plants.
The UK is expected to announce dozens of new North Sea oil and gas exploration licenses to boost domestic production.
“We have witnessed changes in energy policies around the world regarding the use of fossil fuels, including coal, oil, gas and nuclear, which confirms the commitment of countries to pursue the development of their resources natives for their own sovereignty and energy security.
“As Africans, we should remain committed to our goals to curb climate change; however, our ambitions should not stand in the way of our development imperatives, including ending poverty on our continent,” said Poolo .
CEF strongly supports gas to power as baseload, mid-merit or peak power plants, while South Africa maintains its old coal-fired power plants in the medium term.
“We need to use renewable energy to supplement baseload and offset the emissions that come with installing these fossil fuel-based power sources. We’ve watched the US coal-to-gas trajectory closely, from from 2005: they have reported more than 60% of the reduction in emissions.
“As a country committed to a low-carbon future, we are looking forward to building and/or converting more gas to power plants along with other lower-emission energy sources,” he said.
