Coega oil refinery gets the green light

NATIONAL OIL company PetroSA says it is going ahead with plans for a new crude oil refinery at Coega, near Port Elizabeth. Dubbed “Project Mthombo”, the proposed refinery is expected to produce about 250 000 barrels of fuel a day and will come on stream in 2014/15, according to the company. At an estimated R36-billion, it will be one of the biggest post-2010 investments in the country and would significantly improve South Africa’s fuels import bill. PetroSA said its plans to build the refinery had been “ratcheted up” following confirmation from the Coega Development Corporation that it had been granted preferred investor status.