Vopak consortium selected to operate new LNG terminal in South Africa
CAPE TOWN, Jan 10 (Reuters) — South Africa has selected a Vopak consortium as the preferred bidder to develop and operate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Port of Richards Bay for 25 years, state-owned Transnet National Ports Authority said on Wednesday.
Vopak, a Dutch company which operates terminals and storage facilities worldwide, partnered with Transnet Pipelines during the bidding round as South Africa pushes to raise gas consumption in Africa’s most industrialised economy.
South Africa is increasingly turning towards gas, as well as renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, as it looks to overcome its worst energy crisis on record and break its reliance on coal-fired plants that power its economy.
”TNPA is excited about the prospects this project brings, especially that this gas infrastructure will be the first of its kind in South Africa,” said Moshe Motlohi, TNPA managing executive for the Eastern region ports.
TNPA added it expects the terminal to begin operations at Richards Bay during 2027.
(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Jon Boyle, Bhargav Acharya, Elaine Hardcastle)
Related Knowledge Center: Liquefied natural gas
Driven by plentiful natural gas produced from shale plays, the United States began exporting liquefied natural gas in 2016 when the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana opened and shipped its first cargo. Since then, additional capacity, or trains, have been added to Sabine Pass, and terminals have become operational in Cameron Parish, La.; Hackberry, La.; Cove Point, Md.; and Corpus Christi, Texas. The Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. LNG export capacity will reach 8.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by the end of 2019, making it the third largest in the world, behind Australia and Qatar. The tariff war with China has the potential to impact some final investment decisions for additional terminals in the coming months.