Page 12 - AfrOil Week 27 2021

AfrOil POLICY AfrOil

While any such adjustment would be a devia- Meanwhile, the UAE has undertaken a major
tion from the course which has brought market project to add to its reserves and increase capac-
stability and rising prices, Emirati officials have ity, late last year announcing the discovery of
noted that the country has had to shut in a dis- 24bn barrels of oil resources and approving Abu
proportionate amount of production capacity Dhabi National Oil Co.’s (ADNOC) $122bn
– 35% compared with the 22% average among four-year spending plan.
other members. The company is on course to increase oil pro-
The UAE also has a point in terms of the base- duction capacity from the current 4mn bpd to
line with Saudi Arabia being given a baseline of 5mn bpd by 2030.
11mn bpd despite having produced an average A date has not yet been set to make up for
of 10.38mn bpd during 2018, with October 2018 the missed meeting, but member delegations
output running at 10.77mn bpd. are understood to be continuing talks behind
Saudi oil production has only exceeded the scenes to broker a deal.
11mn bpd twice in history – in November With the rift between the Gulf neighbours
2018 and April 2020 when it hit 12.1mn bpd appearing sizeable, Iraq has already noted the
as it launched a price war with Moscow send- potential for disruption without further negoti-
ing prices into freefall. However, state-owned ation with Mazhar Muhammed Salih, an adviser
Saudi Aramco maintains that it has a ‘maximum to Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi telling
sustainable capacity’ of 12mn bpd which it has the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “In the absence
been instructed to increase by 1mn bpd by the of coordination and understandings between
Ministry of Energy. Russia also has a baseline of the members of OPEC, the beginnings of a price
11mn bpd. war will be formed again.” ™

Sasol, IDC team up to develop South

Africa’s green hydrogen potential

SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH Africa’s Sasol revealed on July 5 that it
was teaming up with Industrial Development
Corp. of South Africa (IDC), a government-run
development finance agency, to encourage
investment in green hydrogen production
capacity.
In a statement, the company explained that
it had signed a memorandum of co-operation
with IDC. This document provides for the par-
ties to “jointly develop and shape an enabling
environment to advance South Africa’s green
hydrogen economy,” it reported.
More specifically, Sasol said it intended to
join IDC in “advocating at relevant international
fora for policy frameworks to enable a hydro- Sasol believes South Africa has major green hydrogen potential (Photo: EurActiv)
gen economy; developing pilot and commer-
cial-scale hydrogen projects to pioneer viable company viewed green hydrogen as a good busi-
and sustainable solutions; accessing local and ness opportunity. “Green hydrogen provides an
international financing options; and pursu- exciting opportunity for the country to create
ing strategic projects that benefit the country’s new hydrogen ecosystems and become a credi-
energy transition and economic development ble exporter of sustainable energy and chemical
goals.” products, such as hydrogen, ammonia and sus-
The statement did not say whether the two tainable aviation fuel, while increasing much-
sides would promote any specific initiatives. needed employment opportunities,” she said.
However, it touted South Africa’s potential to “Our ambition is to lead and co-create South
become a player in the green hydrogen sec- Africa’s hydrogen ecosystems through strate-
tor, noting the country’s significant resource gic partnerships, leveraging our proprietary
endowment with respect to renewable energies technology and integrated value chain. We are
and Sasol’s extensive experience with the Fis- delighted to partner with the IDC in jointly pur-
cher-Tropsch gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology. suing South Africa’s green hydrogen potential to
Priscillah Mabelane, the executive vice-pres- support a just energy transition and unlock new
ident of Sasol’s energy business division, said the value chains to ignite the country’s economy.”

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 27 07•July•2021