CT sets the ground work for oil hub status

Ray Smuts IF CAPE Town is to succeed in its bid to become a service hub for the West Africa oil and gas industry it is essential that the National Ports Authority buys into the concept by accepting the vast potential it holds for the city and Western Cape. This is the message from Colin Boyes, deputy director of the Cape Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who headed a recent delegation to the 2002 Off-Shore Technology Exposition in Houston, Texas. That the NPA is serious about the mission was evident from the presence of three of its members in the delegation, including national marketing manager Nozipho Jafta. Also in Houston was Rustum Mohamed, marketing manager of Wesgro, the Western Cape investment and trade promotion agency and representative of the Cape provincial government and Department of Trade and Industry. (The cost of the stand, around R50 000, was sponsored by the provincial government). Boyes makes the point that as is the case with all trade missions, pay-back is never immediate, but the delegation returned so optimistic that they scored their chances of success at between 70% and 80%. "We don't lay claim to being an oil hub right now but one of the future and it is important to clarify the confusion in the minds of many about what this is all about. "They think we are going to build many refineries and that a lot of oil is going to come into Cape Town for processing leading to pollution. Not at all.Ó What it means rather is that in addition to the port accommodating oil rigs and related vessels for repairs and refits, there are huge opportunities for manufacturing a wide range of products for export to countries involved in oil and gas in West Africa. As an example of the kind of opportunities that exist for Cape engineering and other related companies, Boyes says a huge oil barge is due soon in Duncan Dock for a major refit which will require a work force of some 600 people. He is keen to enter into an an arrangement with Scottish educational institutions to set up a training facility for young South Africans in the Mother City bearing in mind that oil and gas exploration is a high-safety industry requiring re-certification at regular intervals.