TNPA ready to present its oil and gas strategy

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) planners will present to the Transnet board of directors by the end of this month the final strategy on how the country can service the growing oil and gas industry as well as ship repair requirements. According to Lindo Mkhize, TNPA manager: port planning and development, the strategy was drawn up after much consultation with industry and is a holistic approach which takes into account what is feasible, affordable and deliverable. “The strategy does not only look at the oil and gas industry but ship repair in general. South African ports are in a very competitive position to take advantage of these growing industries,” she said at the recent Oil and Gas Africa 2014 conference in Cape Town. “We have strong industrial capabilities relative to the continent, good infrastructure and there are industrial zones in place at East London, Ngqura, Richards Bay and Saldanha Bay.” The country is also geographically close to sub Saharan Africa and its regional oil and gas markets. CAPTION Lindo Mkhize.