Decarbonisation can be implemented by the introduction of gas as a replacement of fossil fuels such as coal and diesel, says strategic research and advisory company Birguid senior associate Patience Panashe.

Panashe tells Engineering News that the benefits asserted from the use of liquified natural gas (LNG) includes its inexpensive features, as well as its efficiency and safety for the environment.

After the discovery of gas in Mozambique last year, South Africa has become the largest importer of LNG, obtaining 99.9% of this gas from Pande-Temane. These gas fields arose several years ago, however, owing to the lack of market and infrastructure, the fields were left destitute until integrated company Sasol proposed a $1.2-billion natural gas project.

This project combined the cleaning and processing of natural gas from the Pande-Temane fields in a 120 MGJ/a central processing facility (CPF) and transmitting it through a 865 km pipeline to coalesce global energy and chemical company Sasol’s gas distribution network which starts in Secunda, South Africa.

South Africa’s biggest demand for LNG stem from Gauteng, Mpumulanga and KwaZulu-Natal. These provinces receive their gas from Mozambique through the Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Company (ROMPCO) pipeline and Sasol through the Lilly pipeline also known as the Secunda – Durban gas pipeline.

However, the reserves of the Pande-Temane gas fields are declining, and supply is expected to be constrained from about 2025 onwards, presenting a supply risk if additional gas cannot be sourced at an affordable price. The Industrial Gas Users Association of Southern Africa (IGUA-SA) anticipates a yearly shortfall of 98-million gigajoules from 2025 onwards.

Panashe suggests that, in order to navigate this challenge, the country can supplement the Pande-Temane reserves by relying on LNG. The LNG would mainly be supplied from floating storage regasification units or gas-carrying ships stationed at ports, such as those of Matola in Mozambique, and Richards Bay, Coega and Saldanha, in South Africa.

South Africa consumes gas in the synfuel and industrial sector which provides about 56 000 jobs across the value chain. This generates about R215-billion in taxable revenue and contributes 1% to 2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

If additional gas cannot be sourced at an affordable price which currently sells at R30-90/GJ,the move to a net-zero economy will be more difficult to achieve which, in turn, will prolong the use of coal and diesel. This is almost half of what LNG could cost on a long-term contract basis and less than five to ten times the average spot market prices in October 2021."

Panashe says that the amount of additional gas available from Pande-Temane is not fixed amid contractual and technical uncertainties. Potential supply options include piped gas from Rovuma and gas from exploration activities at the in-country Brulpadda and Luiperd gas fields.