Petroleum Africa
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Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Release
South Africa based company Sasol and Italy’s Eni weigh up the possibility of building a gas-to-liquids plant in Mozambique.
London 09/07/2014
As Africa continues to yield substantial oil and gas discoveries such as the recent ‘high quality’ oil discovery made by Tullow in the Ngamia-2 well in Kenya, African governments will increasingly have to invest in the supporting infrastructure the industry needs to develop the resources. Investments in logistics, transportation, pipelines and refineries are set to grow massively across Africa as a result.
It is understood that Mozambique will be holding their 5th licensing round thought to consist of 12 blocks; it is not yet known how many of these are onshore and offshore. This information will be disclosed upon the ratification of the new Petroleum Law which the Government has promised will be ready in Q4 2014.
The Rovuma Basin in Mozambique is thought to hold up to 85 Tcf of gas. This week it has been announced that oil giants Eni who operate in the Rovuma Basin are conducting a study in conjunction with Sasol of South Africa to scope out the viability of working together to build what would be Mozambique’s first gas-to-liquid facility.
Gas-to-liquids (GTL) processes enable monetization of remote natural gas or other gaseous hydrocarbons, by converting them into sulfur-free synthetic crude oil that can be easily transported by tanker. The GTL products can be used as-is or blended with diesel oils as a fuel with lower environmental impact for transportation and power plants.
Should the study prove a success then a project like this would have a positive socio-economic effect on both Mozambique and the East African region in general. The GTL facility would not only help kick start power generation projects, it would also lead to employment opportunities and go a long way towards reducing net export by processing hydrocarbons on African soil, which in turn would drive down prices in the region.
Projects like this which provide genuine regional socio-economic benefits are becoming increasingly visible across Africa and as a result we are seeing many new players entering the market.
It is the initiative of Oliver Kinross to hold the Africa Oil & Gas Expo which is the only annual event of its kind in Africa which brings together the Downstream, Midstream and the Upstream operating solutions, services and operating companies. The event also focuses heavily on the associated local content discourses and latest Government paradigms with which local and international players have to adhere to when negotiating their contracts.
This landmark event will take place on the 9th & 10th of October 2014 at Johannesburg’s Sandton Convention Centre. The event consists of a 70+ exhibition, over 2000 visitors, complimentary workshops as well as an optional high level 300 delegate conference which will run alongside.
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