Western Cape realises its oil supply dream

RAY SMUTS IT’S CALLED Cogsi, short for the Cape Oil Supply and Gas Initiative, and it has taken three years to bring about, setting up the Western Cape as the prime oil and gas hub on the African continent. Launched last week, Cogsi is designed to service the burgeoning West African oil and gas exploration industry and holds the promise of creating up to 10 000 new jobs over the next 15 years. The Western Cape provincial government has allocated R3 million to kick-start the project which Economic Development and Tourism MEC Lynne Brown believes represents an opportunity well worth pursuing. She makes the point that that not only does the province have the largest ports in the region in Cape Town and Saldanha but certainly the most superior industrial back-up to make a success of this endeavour.