As President Cyril Ramaphosa tries to attract fresh
investment, there is good news in the oil sector.
South Africa’s Central Energy Fund, partnering with Saudi Aramco, said
it expected a proposed new 300,000 barrel per day crude oil refinery along the
east coast to come online by 2028.
This will make it the region’s largest refinery.
The Central Energy Fund said work on the project off Richards Bay was
still at an early stage, adding it would cost in the region of $10 billion
(R147 billion).
Saudi Arabia announced the project in January.
A pre-feasibility study would be completed in the next few weeks, after
which a more detailed study would firm up the design and capital cost
estimates.
The new project will reduce the need for refined product imports and
cement Saudi Arabia’s dominant position in South Africa’s oil sector.
South Africa has talked about building a new refinery for more than a decade but has struggled to find investors until now.https://ewn.co.za/2019/11/08/sa-partners-with-saudi-aramco-for-r147-billion-oil-refinery-set-for-2028