The gas outlook for the Eastern Cape remains a chicken and egg situation despite the massive opportunity the fuel offers for sustainable energy development. According to Alistair McMaster, director for sustainable energy in the Eastern Cape department of economic development, environmental affairs and tourism, the electricity landscape in South Africa is changing fast and provinces are under pressure to move away from fossil fuel to renewable energy and gas. But considering the massive costs involved for the required infrastructure and the uncertainty around the role the fuel will play
on a national scale, it is a balancing act at present. “The question is do we prepare for the gas now or do we wait and see what will happen?” He said offshore gas exploration was already taking place off the Eastern Cape coast, while shale gas in the Karoo area offered huge potential. From a maritime position the bunkering industry was one of real possibility, said McMaster. “We are at present looking at the possibility of offering liquid gas to the maritime sector as we are
increasingly seeing the switch to dual fuel.” He said all of this was part of the province’s planning and preparation for a possible future with natural gas. “Many of the plans involving gas in the province are around the Coega special economic zone (SEZ),” he said. One of the major projects for the SEZ – which is operated by the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) – is a gas-to-power plant on which environmental impact assessments as well as
technical and engineering studies have already been completed McMaster said the core solution involved bringing liquid gas onshore, sending it to a gas distribution hub and from there to a landside gasto-power plant and finally to a transmission substation from where the electricity would be distributed. He said there was growing gas readiness in the SEZ where major work was happening. Three sites have been identified as possibilities, all close to the port with good access
to service stations and the service corridor. “This project entails the generation of close to 3000 MW of electricity and work on it is ongoing. It is currently going through environmental and other regulatory processes. This means once a final decision is taken for the project to go ahead, construction will happen fairly quickly.” He said this project, along with several others planned for the province, would be game-changers, contributing positively to the Eastern Cape economy.
Many of the plans involving gas in the province are around the Coega special economic zone. – Alistair McMaster
