The discovery of vast quantities of gas offshore of Mozambique’s northern province could catalyse the economic development South Africa needs. Mozambique’s Rovuma basin holds the biggest natural gas discoveries in recent history with the basin estimated to hold about 32 billion barrels of equivalent (boe), enough to supply Europe’s gas needs for a decade. Speaking at the Africa Gas Forum in Cape Town on Monday, recently retired executive director of SA Oil and Gas Association (Saoga) Niall Kramer, said South Africa – coupled with last year’s discovery of an estimated…
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A new smart and safe way to monitor powertrain equipment in hazardous areas
Operators can carry out remote real-time health checks on powertrain equipment in hazardous areas with ABB Ability™ Smart Sensors that offer improved analytics, functionality and communications. ABB will launch its Smart Sensor for rotating machines operating in hazardous areas at Hannover Messe 2020, the leading international technology fair. It further extends the existing scope of applications for ABB Smart Sensors with a new generation design for powertrains in hazardous areas. Chemical and oil and gas customers can now benefit from cost-efficient condition monitoring in a wide variety of applications. …
Read MoreRTS Africa Technologies principal H2Scan opens new Environmental Conditioning Laboratory to further ‘refine’ hydrogen detection in gas process streams
Hydrocarbon fuels are essential for our daily existence. However, extracting usable fuels from crude oil is a complex process in which hydrogen plays a cardinal role, as the correct levels of hydrogen in a refinery process stream largely determine the quality of the final product. “At RTS Africa Technologies, we have been distributing H2Scan hydrogen detection and analysis products for the past decade. In particular, H2Scan’s Hy-Optima range of products have numerous applications in South Africa’s oil refineries,” says Ian Fraser, MD of RTS Africa Group, a Tshwane-based company specialising…
Read MoreSouth Africa’s First Commercial Helium Plant To Begin Construction
Energy company Renergen says construction will soon begin on the Virginia Gas Project, South Africa’s first commercial helium plant. In a shareholder statement on Monday (28 October), Renergen said that Chinese company Western Shell Cryogenic Equipment has been awarded the contract to supply the technology and equipment for the plant. “The plant is expected to be operational within the first half of 2021 and will see the plant produce up to 2,700 GJ of liquid natural gas and 350 kg of liquid helium per day,” it said. “This will make…
Read MoreRand-Air’s oil-free compressors, portable generators and nitrogen generators ensure ‘well-oiled’ refinery shutdowns
An oil refinery is a very large and highly complex installation. Because of this complexity and the nature of the process, shutting the plant down for ad hoc repairs is not an economical option. Oil and gas refineries are designed so that they will run uninterrupted for a period of 18 months to two years, after which sections of the refinery are shut down for scheduled periods of repair and maintenance. During what is invariably a period of frenetic activity, all repairs, upgrades and maintenance are carried out. These pre-emptive…
Read MoreOil declines as market assesses attacks on Saudi facilities
INTERNATIONAL – Oil dropped on Tuesday although the market remains on tenterhooks over the threat of a military response to attacks on Saudi Arabian crude oil facilities that cut the kingdom’s output in half and sent prices soaring by the most in decades. The Saturday attack raised the prospect of a major supply shock in a market that in recent months had focussed on demand concerns due to the erosion of global growth amid the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute. Saudi Arabia is the world’s top oil exporter and has…
Read MoreGovernment revives plan to take free stake in energy projects
South Africa’s government is drafting a new law that aims at securing it a free stake in all new oil and gas ventures, revising the terms of a proposal shelved four years ago. Under the legislation, which the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy outlined to lawmakers in Cape Town on Friday, the state would secure 10% ownership of energy projects at the exploration phase and the rights to 10% of their production at no cost. The law, which is still being refined, will be submitted to parliament in the…
Read MoreMozambique’s vast gas fields will fuel growth, says Grindrod
JSE-listed freight logistics and financial services group Grindrod is planning further investments in Mozambique, which is on the cusp of an economic growth spurt thanks to its vast offshore gas fields. “Mozambique is set for take-off,” says CEO of Durban-based Grindrod Andrew Waller, adding that the country’s nascent gas fields are getting the attention of international oil and gas companies. On the back of this, Grindrod is planning to make further investments into Mozambique. Grindrod CEO Andrew Waller. Image: Moneyweb Waller was speaking to Moneyweb at the company’s interim results presentation…
Read MoreRenergen signs $40m loan agreement with US govt for gas project in SA
JOHANNESBURG – Emerging liquefied natural gas and helium producer, Renergen, on Wednesday said it had signed a $40 million (R610m) loan agreement with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) for a gas project in the Free State province. Renergen’s principal asset is its 90 percent shareholding in Tetra4, which holds the first and only onshore petroleum production right in South Africa, giving it first mover advantage on distribution of domestic natural gas. OPIC is the US government’s development finance institution that mobilizes private capital to help solve critical development challenges and…
Read MoreA really ‘refined’ solution: Rand-Air Durban supplies Class-0 oil-free air to oil refinery shutdowns
While Durban is one of South Africa’s major industrial hubs, it is also home to some of South Africa’s major oil refineries. The fuel and oil from these refineries keep much of South Africa and its economy on the move and flowing smoothly every day. A refinery is a very large and highly complex operation which has been designed to run most of the time with a minimum of supervision. However, usually every two years, oil refineries need to be shut down for a period of intensive maintenance, replacement or…
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