Page 18 - AfrOil Week 36 2022

AfrOil NEWS IN BRIEF AfrOil

Speaking after the signing of the MoU, execu- senior executive officer, and regional executive of high-density 2D seismic data from Stryde’s
tive vice president of energy business at Sasol officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa nodes, which had been acquired from Zimba-
Priscillah Mabelane said: “Sasol is excited about at Japan’s leading MUFG Bank, Ltd (MUFG), bwe earlier this year, having served to enable the
our collaboration with Itochu to unlock South who said: “MUFG is committed to empowering identification of mature additional prospects in
Africa’s significant potential as a large-scale pro- a brighter future and are proactive in addressing the Cabora Bassa Basin in northern Zimbabwe,
ducer of green hydrogen and ammonia,” adding: climate change and environmental protection where – considered the largest undrilled conven-
“This marks yet another milestone in our ambi- issues. As the first Japanese Bank to declare car- tional oil and gas prospect onshore Africa to date
tion to lead the energy transition in South Africa bon neutrality and participate in the UN-led Net – drilling of the Muzarabani-1 well is currently
through decarbonisation, while stimulating Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), this MoU aligns underway.
industrial development.” with our commitment of achieving Carbon Neu- “We required a seismic imaging system that
The South African firm is currently the trality by 2050. We were very pleased to witness was low-cost but wouldn’t compromise the qual-
world’s largest producer of fuel products derived the signing of this MoU between Sasol and Ito- ity of the output dataset,” Bill Mooney, CEO at
from coal products, but is known to be veer- chu – not only because both companies are our Polaris stated, adding that, “Stryde was able to
ing away from dependency on coal as part of important and long-standing clients, but also deliver this through the use of their compact
the nationwide moves to eventual net-zero because the envisaged co-operation deals with Nimble System and we were pleased to see sig-
emissions. green hydrogen and ammonia, which we believe nificant cost savings and operational efficiency
To this end, Sasol has already made progress will play a key role in establishing a low-carbon gains unlocked. As a direct result of using Stryde
in recent years on green hydrogen development society.” nodes, we were able to reduce the size of the sur-
in the nation’s North Cape, with green ammonia In response, a release from Sasol highlighted vey crew and decrease the number of vehicles
products being prepared for export. the Japanese goal of increasing the role of hydro- and logistics required, and therefore the project
And with one eye on its own government’s gen and ammonia in Tokyo’s Green Growth timeline and associated costs and risk.”
“Green Growth Strategy” in Tokyo, Itochu Strategy by claiming that “Japan is expected to be Minimising the need for land disruption, and
is understood to be working on sourcing an a large importer of green ammonia in the future.” thus adhering to local environmental guidelines
increased number of supply routes to help in Jap- Whilst this may prove correct in the long run, and corporate policies, the node’s compact Nim-
anese initiatives towards powering ships using some in Tokyo view such early assumptions as ble System allowed Polaris to deploy and retrieve
ammonia in the years ahead. the South African partners in the MoU pushing thousands of nodes per day, resulting in an effi-
According to Sasol, power generation too a little too hard, a little too soon. cient survey that served to reduce the companies’
is a realistic potential use for green ammonia bna/IntelliNews, September 8 2022 environmental footprints.
now being investigated by the Japanese firm; in Additionally, the survey served to gener-
particular, the possibilities around its effective- Stryde expands African ate numerous job opportunities through the
ness as a co-firing element in thermal power deployment, retrieval and management of the
generation. exploration business with Stryde nodes for local communities in northern
Speaking of this potential, a Sasol spokesper- Zimbabwe.
son said: “Green ammonia is an excellent energy Polaris contract “We are delighted that, following success-
carrier, especially over long distances, and can ful projects together during 2021, Polaris has
be easily transported,” continuing: “The product Seismic technology provider, Stryde, has signed decided to proceed with purchasing our Nimble
can also be ‘cracked’ back to hydrogen gas for a seven-figure contract with Canadian seismic System,” stated Mike Popham, CEO of Stryde,
further applications.” company, Polaris Natural Resources, for the who added that, “It serves as further proof that
Green hydrogen is itself manufactured by purchase of a 13,000-node system to acquire our nodal system is fundamentally changing
splitting water into its base hydrogen and oxygen high-density subsurface data, which will enable how land seismic is acquired, reducing the envi-
elements by using either solar or wind power. cost-effective and efficient oil and gas explora- ronmental impact while enabling higher density,
Crucial to the long-term success of the MoU, tion in Africa. more affordable seismic acquisition.”
the signing was witnessed by Takanori Sazaki, the The deal comes after the successful harvesting Energy Capital & Power, September 5 2022

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