So increasing the gas used increases the fraction of renewables which can be included in South Africa's electricity mix, while still meeting a given electricity security and emissions target. Switching them to natural gas could do this job more cheaply, more efficiently and with lower emissions, including of greenhouse gases. The problem is that solar energy and wind energy – the main forms of renewable energy available to South Africa – are both intermittent: the energy they supply fluctuates with the sunshine and the weather.Ĭurrently the country fills the gaps between the variable supply and the consumer demand, which also fluctuates through the day and year, by turning on very expensive diesel-powered electricity generators. Other reasons for increasing the use of gas are a bit counter-intuitive if your perception is that South Africa should be moving away from fossil fuels like gas and oil and into renewable energy sources, to reduce climate change and save money. It wants to diversify away from coal and imported crude oil. The government's energy policy and its Gas Utilisation Master Plan agree that South Africa could usefully increase the amount of natural gas in the mix. How does this change the national energy strategy? It has a capacity of about 40 000 barrels a day, and the Brulpadda find – given its proximity – could extend its life substantially. This means the biggest benefit will probably be to that refinery. The Brulpadda find contains condensates – a kind of light crude oil – which only PetroSA's Mossel Bay refinery can process. It is the smallest refinery in the country. PetroSA, South Africa's national oil company, built one in Mossel Bay in 1989, which it still operates. There are only a few gas-to-liquids refineries around the world. We simply won't know until more holes are drilled, and three-dimensional seismic surveys are completed. The gas is present over a relatively large vertical distance (57 metres), but it's not clear how extensive the gas-rich area is. To put that in perspective, South Africa's total refinery capacity is 700 000 barrels of oil per day. In a press release, Total said it "could be around one billion barrels of global resources, gas and condensate light oil". The Conversation Africa's Nontobeko Mtshali spoke to Robert Scholes and Rod Crompton about the significance of the find.
The discovery, comes against the backdrop of rising fuel prices and an electricity utility in crisis, has raised hopes that it may be a game changer.
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