Oil and gas focus switches to East Coast

Africa’s booming oil and gas industry is good news for the local logistics sector. And there is seemingly no end in sight as more and more companies are heading to the continent in search of prosperity in the oil and gas sector. According to George Gerber, operations manager oil and gas for SDV South Africa, part of Bollore Africa Logistics, much of the activity is currently on the East Coast of Africa after initial interest and exploration along the West Coast. “We have done extensive work across Africa in the oil and gas sector, but especially along the West Coast where we cut our teeth,” he said. “Now the focus is on the East Coast with a lot of activity from Mozambique through to Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.” Locally there is also renewed interest in the sector with some new developments set to take off again in the Mossel Bay area, he said. “Servicing the oil and gas sector can be extremely challenging as the cargo variation is wide. It can be anything from a small and urgent delivery that is brought in via air to a massive drill that has to be transported carefully via road to a remote location,” he said. “It is not an easy sector to service and having the experience, the skill and the knowledge not just in logistics but logistics in Africa is essential for success. “Many of the locations are extremely remote and infrastructure has to be brought in from scratch. Also, everything that is going up has to be serviced – be it locally or from South Africa. There are many opportunities for logistics service providers who know and understand the intricacies of working in Africa and are able to deliver a consistent service of standard.” According to Gerber, Bollore Africa Logistics is extremely serious about Africa, investing up to €300 million per annum on the continent. Having a big footprint in Africa – some 25 000 full-time employees on the continent, as well as an established network of agents – is a huge advantage in being able to service the rapidly expanding oil and gas industry. He says most of the infrastructure into Africa is still moved through the South African ports, but more and more is moving by air. “In Pemba, for example, we have done 55 flights since the start of our contract with a mining house there in March last year – that is more than one flight a week so far.” He believes the oil and gas sector is bound to grow in coming years as much of the activity is at an early stage with companies still getting licences and other documents in place. “When full-scale drilling starts in many of the countries we will see a dramatic increase in the demand for logistics services,” said Gerber. “The opportunities are endless – not just for the logistics sector but across the board for South Africa which has a very real opportunity to establish itself as an oil and gas refurbishing hub on the continent.” CAPTION George Gerber … serious about Africa