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47 min ago 2 min read
South Africa’s Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) plans to develop an onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification facility at the Port of Ngqura in the Eastern Cape.
The project will be developed under a 25-year terminal operator agreement with Ukwanda LNG, a joint venture between Tamasa Energy Group and the state-owned Strategic Fuel Fund.
The partners plan to invest around R22bn($1.3bn) into the project, while TNPA will invest a further R2bn ($123m) to develop a dedicated LNG berth.
The development will also include a temporary floating storage and regasification unit.
“Included in the scope is the construction of permanent onshore infrastructure to supply gas to off-takers, industry, data centres and independent power producers to enable the production of about 3,500MW of electricity within the Coega Special Economic Zone,” said TNPA in a statement.
The project fits with South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which allocates 6,500MW of gas-to-power capacity for development by 2030 as part of the country’s longer-term energy transition strategy.
Gas-to-power projects are viewed as a potential source of flexible generation capacity capable of supporting grid stability and balancing intermittent renewable energy supplies.
South Africa has previously relied heavily on diesel-fired open-cycle gas turbines during periods of severe electricity shortages and load shedding, though the high operating costs of diesel have limited their long-term viability.
Load shedding is the controlled interruption of electricity supply by state utility Eskom to prevent grid collapse during periods of constrained generation capacity. It had previously affected South Africans for 335 days in 2023.
However, Eskom said earlier this month that the country had surpassed 300 consecutive days without load shedding, which the utility attributed largely to improved generation performance and operational recovery across its coal fleet.
Last year, TNPA signed a separate 25-year agreement with Zululand Energy Terminals for the development of an LNG import terminal at the Port of Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal.
Global commodity trader Vitol said it is backing a consortium planning to build a $3bn gas-fired power station and LNG import facility at the country’s east coast, Durban port.
