Page 8 - RBIDZ

PONDERING ON THE PERSUASION

OF OIL AND GAS IN THE PROVINCE

The International Gas Summit, held in Durban recently, displayed
optimism by the business stakeholders and other seasoned experts
in the energy industry. The summit took place exactly a year after
the announcement made in Cape Town by the Minister of Energy that
Richards Bay was allocated 2000MW to host the gas-to-power plant
in the region. It is pleasing to note that the players in the industry are
still enthusiastic and optimistic that the chosen region for hosting the
LNG gas-to-power project poses huge potential for the exploration of
the energy alternative.

From all the other gas options conferences that have taken place
around the globe, the recent one held in Durban, strongly relayed a
message that indeed role players are looking forward to carrying on
this mammoth task of energy mix exploration.

It is without doubt that there are many players who have their eyes
set on playing in the Richards Bay home-ground, however, Richards
Bay Industrial Development Zone is still in the running to make a
reality of the gas-to-power plant located in the Zone. The setbacks
in declaring the start button towards the progression of the project
has not dampened the spirits of the RBIDZ CEO, Pumi Motsoahae and
the provincial government. After all, who would lose hope over such a

Zikalala further emphasised that

politically, South Africa is stable and
a better choice for investments hence
thrives to attract both domestic and

foreign direct investments into the
country and province are prioritised.”

gigantic project that could completely mark history of the province and
thrive to see much more opportunities created for all the role players?
It goes without saying that if you are categorising the Richards Bay
Industrial Development Zone portfolio and the demand of electricity
usage, indeed an energy alternative is a requirement more than a luxury
to relieve the already condensed grid.

Richards Bay boasts industries like the Aluminium smelter, which is
the largest in the southern hemisphere; Foskor, with its international
exposure, produces phosphoric acid; Bell, the manufacturer and
supplier of Bell heavy duty machinery and equipment; Mondi; Richards
Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT); and others. All these industries are listed
amongst the critical users of electricity in Richards Bay.

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