As an ICT professional, innovation has always gone hand-in-hand with increasing the number of opportunities that are available to us, be it in the way we do our work and even on a personal level.
Innovation represents a shift in progress, from a business perspective I have been fortunate to witness several technical innovations since beginning my career 28 years ago, however, what has also changed in that time are the general attitudes on the role of woman in this sector.
Looking back to my high school career in the late 1980s, my teachers were surprised when I insisted on wanting to pursue a more challenging academic stream that included advanced mathematics and computer studies, straying away from the more conventional female-orientated path of typing and the like which was encouraged of a many young woman at the time.
As a woman, I have had to find my own way through this male-dominated world of ICT, so I am glad that Dube iConnect has been able to play a small part in inspiring young women to fully embrace the possibilities that await them in this industry, through our involvement with local initiatives which focus on the development of STEM amongst young women in KZN. Witnessing the passion of the young women, with whom I am fortunate to work, and knowing that they are gearing up to lead our country into the 4th Industrial Revolution, makes me so excited for the future that lies ahead.
Today, there are a lot more opportunities for a young woman in the ICT sector. One of the most rewarding parts of my job is being in a position to work with several entrepreneurs from various backgrounds, upskilling and capacitating them to be able to participate more meaningfully and gainfully in the ICT sector.
With the ubiquity of cloud computing, we have been able to offer ongoing training and support to small and micro-enterprises, enabling young black men and woman to create thriving businesses that have the potential to compete directly with established telecommunications companies in providing hosted services.
Two years ago, this direct support resulted in a consortium of micro-enterprises that operate within the Dube iConnect Reseller Programme winning a tender to roll-out broadband as part of the SA Connect initiative.
I strongly believe that these types of interpersonal shifts in attitudes create more opportunities for a diversity of people and ideas, which fuel innovation.
With a series of strategic outlooks, panels and an interactive natural gas vs renewables debate, AOW Virtual’s goal is to reconnect the African upstream following a tumultuous year that has featured unprecedented supply and demand shocks in the sector.
Perhaps the most hotly anticipated of the conference, the “Somalia Licensing Round: De-risking Above Ground Factors” session offers delegates the first opportunity to hear directly from the senior members of the Somali government about licensing round details, following the official announcement made on August 4th. Security and geophysical experts will also be on hand to provide insights and answer questions. Speakers include:
Hon. Eng. Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed, Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources, Federal Republic of Somalia
Ibrahim Ali Hussein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Somali Petroleum Authority
Phil McDonald, Regional Director (Africa), Castor Vali
Dr Alessio Checconi, Senior Business Development Manager AME, TGS
Scot Fraser, Co-Founder & Director Exploration, Ventura International Energy LLC
Daniel Berkove, Senior Associate Energy, IHS Markit
By popular demand, AOW Virtual will also be shining the spotlight on the West African region, from Côte D’Ivoire to Nigeria in the “West Africa Regional Focus: New Ventures & Opportunities” session and the “Interactive debate: natural gas vs renewables” will aim to answer which is the most viable energy source for Africa as well as investment, infrastructure, technology and ESG required.
Lastly, it wouldn’t be an Africa Oil Week event without a strategic outlook from Operators across the continent. Senior executives will deliver insights on which new ventures, projects and geographies they’re prioritising in the new post-pandemic landscape.
Among other industry leaders confirmed to speak in the online conference are: Tracey Henderson, Chief Exploration Officer, Kosmos Energy, Liv Hovem, CEO, DNV GL, Dr Alex Irune, COO, Oando Energy Resources, Christine Roche, Manager – AMME, PGS, Adam Pollard, Senior Research Analyst, Sub-Saharan Africa Upstream Oil & Gas, Wood Mackenzie, Chris Hindle, Director, Critical Resource with more speakers expected to be revealed in the lead up to the event.
AOW Virtual will take place over two afternoons packed full of strategic outlooks, debates, and a much-anticipated government bidding round. 100s of C-level executives from across the value chain are expected to attend and join meaningful conversations reigniting the African upstream once again.
AOW Virtual, an unmissable online conference from the producers of Africa Oil Week is free of charge to attend in an aim to provide the global oil and gas audience with a platform to discuss insights and learnings on how to operate in the ‘new normal’ as well as the challenges and opportunities post Covid-19. AOW Virtual is CPD certified, so attending sessions will count towards continuing professional development.
South African raisins are produced in the Orange and Olifants river regions, which are in the Northern Cape and Western Cape respectively. (Picture Source: Raisins South Africa)
South African raisins are 100% naturally sundried grapes.
South African raisins are produced in the Orange and Olifants river regions, which are in the Northern Cape and Western Cape respectively.
These regions experience exceptional levels of sunshine, on average 10.5 hours every day between January and March, which is when the fruit is harvested and naturally sundried. The dry, sunny climate, along with the ample supply of water from the rivers, makes ideal growing conditions to produce the highest quality raisins.
South African raisin varieties to look out for:
Thompson – brown to dark brown in colour with a rich and sweet flavour
Golden – light yellow to golden in colour with a soft texture
Flame – dark deep red/black in colour, sweet flavour and a soft, chewy texture
Raisins are packed full of nutrients, such as fibre, iron, calcium and antioxidants. Because most of the water is extracted from dried fruits their nutrients are concentrated. Raisins are also incredibly versatile.
Eat them on their own as a quick, healthy snack, or use them in porridge, cereals, salads, stews, baking, pasta and many more delicious recipes. They also provide a cost-effective way of eating healthily due to their long shelf-life.
Add the ‘natural powerhouse’ to your favourite recipes
Picture Source: Raisins South Africa
Find all the beautiful recipes from ‘Raisins South Africa’ on:
Instagram: @southafricanraisins
Facebook: @southafricanraisins
Twitter: @SAraisins
Did you know?
30g of raisins counts as 1 of your 5-a-day, compared to 80g of fresh fruit!
The South African wine industry acknowledges the announcement by president Ramaphosa to resume local trade and distribution of alcohol under alert level 2 from midnight 17 August 2020, but says the industry still has a long road to recovery.
“Although we are grateful to start trading and delivering online sales again, we are dismayed at the extent of the damage caused to our industry during the temporary ban on exports and extended restrictions on local sales,” says Rico Basson, MD of the wine industry organisation Vinpro.
“It might be too little too late. Many wine businesses have already closed down and a long road to recovery lies ahead for the industry as a whole,” says Basson.
The industry is believed to have lost more than R7-billion since the introduction of sales restrictions in March 2020. Following the initial nine-week ban on local sales, five-week ban on exports and second domestic sales ban, Vinpro estimates that more than 80 wineries and 350 wine grape producers would go out of business over the next 18 months, with a potential loss of more than 21 000 jobs across the value-chain.
Vinpro has been working closely with industry partners on a disaster recovery plan to address the urgent need to stabilise the sector, including the extension of further excise relief for the current year, as well as the 2021 season, addressing bottlenecks and challenges at the Cape Town Port and formulating solutions to reduce a current wine surplus of around 300 million litres.
“The wine industry is geared to reopen domestic trade and distribution with all necessary health and safety regulations in place, while focusing on changing behaviour with regard to responsible production, promotion, trade and consumption.”
Like wildfire, Covid-19 has rapidly mushroomed across the world, leaving its crippling imprint on every continent with noticeable trade disruptions and tensions, both locally and internationally – and imposing significant cuts to the global supply chain.
Since South Africa announced its first case of Covid-19 on 5 March 2020, the situation has escalated to where we currently have the highest recorded case incidences on the African continent, despite a total lockdown which resulted in a devastating impact on every sector of the economy.
Among the most affected sectors, the coronavirus has impacted negatively on agriculture, mining, manufacturing, retail, construction, transport services, real estate and personal services such as the beauty industry, causing many businesses (both small and large) to close permanently and leaving many South Africans without employment, with loss of income and food insecurity concerns.
SACCI’s Business Confidence Index (BCI), which is a composite index of economic and financial market indicators (rated by business as critical indicators of the business climate), reflected a marked decline of 22.9 index points between May 2019 and May 2020, emphasising the substantial effect the lockdown is having on real economic activity.
Notable negative annual impacts on the business climate were exerted by the weaker rand, depressed new vehicle sales, lower merchandise import and export volumes, and weaker share prices on the JSE. Financial conditions were somewhat easier mainly due to lower inflation and monetary relief measures.
The coronavirus is affecting not only the health, daily life and psychological wellbeing of the South African population, but is also having a significant impact on our businesses.
Though our government financial relief transfers are helping to substantially support the total income of households in the lower half of the income distribution, their efforts are still far from eradicating the impact of Covid-19 for both households and the business sector. This narrows the options for all efforts by both government and the private sector to be channelled towards recovery strategies for the rapid economic upliftment of the economy at large.
Though the economy is slowly reopening, and precautionary measures continue to be implemented to flatten the infection epidemic, the negative fear mindset will continue to influence the perceptions around growing the economy out of this slump. The medical experts believe that South Africa is likely to see a peak demand for hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) beds between August and September.
The coronavirus is affecting not only the health, daily life and psychological wellbeing of the South African population, but is also having a significant impact on our businesses.
In its efforts to cushion the business community, SACCI continues to play a pivotal role in advocating for the consideration of reasonable accommodation for essential services and other key sectors of the economy, especially for small and medium businesses, and engages with the government in strategic mitigation processes to ease lockdown for the survival of businesses, from the onset of the lockdown.
Though working remotely, SACCI continues to see an influx of requests for intervention by members for assistance in the day-to-day management of their business in these unprecedented times.
The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry has reached out to its over 22 000 members with daily business updates on coping, mitigation reports, requests for comments on policy and regulatory input by members, as well as general support for business survival and return to work preparation and compliance plans, and assistance with access to financial relief platforms for small businesses.
SACCI believes that businesses should more actively engage in strategic and recovery implementation processes which include contingency planning, financial recovery strategies and legislative compliance challenges, as well as communication, especially with employees, to manage the psychological impact of Covid-19 imposed changes and conduct scenario analysis towards inclusive growth. This, we hope, will pave the way towards the recovery of our economy.
The E190 E-jets are configured with 6 business and 92 economy class seats.
We are delighted to be able to re-introduce five routes and increase frequency on two of the routes we’re currently operating, Cape Town/George and Cape Town/PE. This follows the welcome easing of our COVID-19 travel restrictions to Level 2. The additional routes will provide business and leisure travelers with more destinations, flight choices, travel opportunities and better connectivity. We are confident that the added convenience will be welcomed by all our customers.
Routes Re-introduced:
Johannesburg/Pietermaritzburg: the introduction of an early morning and late afternoon scheduled service providing travelers with same day return flights will commence on 7 September 2020, operating daily, except on Saturdays.
Johannesburg/Mthatha: the introduction of a midday scheduled service on 7 September 2020, operating daily, except on Saturdays.
Johannesburg/Hoedspruit: the introduction of a late morning scheduled service on 7 September 2020, will connect travelers to the region. Hoedspruit is the gateway to the enclave of private game reserves including; Timbavati, Thornybush, Klaserie and Manyeleti, as well as Phalaborwa and the Northern Kruger National Park which is accessible via the Phalaborwa gate. The service will initially operate on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Johannesburg/Skukuza: the introduction of a lunch time flight will connect travelers to their safari and bush experience in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve collective of private game reserves, and Kruger National Park. Skukuza Airport is also accessible from Cape Town via Johannesburg on Airlink with a short airport transit connection of 1 hour 15 mins onwards onto the direct Johannesburg/Skukuza flight. The Johannesburg/Skukuza scheduled flights will commence on 14 September 2020 operating on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Cape Town/Upington: the introduction of the mid-morning flight scheduled service on 7 September 2020, operating on Mondays and Fridays.
More Frequency, more Choices:
Airlink will enhance its flight services on the following routes:
Cape Town/George: as from 7th September the re-instated early morning flight will depart Cape Town at 06h40 arriving in George at 07h35, and then depart George at 08h00 and arriving Cape Town at 09h00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The existing afternoon flights departing Cape Town at 15h40 arriving in George at 16h35, currently on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, will as from 8th September also operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. These flights will depart George at 17h00 arriving in Cape Town at 18h00.
Cape Town/Port Elizabeth: the additional early morning flight will depart Cape Town at 07h10 arriving in Port Elizabeth at 08h20. The flight will depart Port Elizabeth at 08h50 arriving in Cape Town at 10h15, operating on Tuesdays and Thursday.
Important information:
Under the COVID-19 Level 2 restrictions, travelers are required to present their completed Traveler Health Questionnaire to a Port Health Official in the terminal building where temperature screening is still a requirement. Download your Forms here https://www.flyairlink.com/covid-19-travel-updates#travellerhealthquest
Airlink knows that for our customers travelling during these stressful COVID pandemic induced times, personal safety is a major consideration. Safety and well-being – yours and ours – remain our primary concern.
Our aircraft are equipped with High Efficiency Particulate Air Filters, which are effective at blocking 99.97% of particulates, including Coronavirus molecules. These filters help to continually sterilize the air in our cabins, which is renewed entirely every three minutes.
Despite the current economic, political and sanitary climate, we are seeing, and expect to continue to see, mergers and acquisitions in Africa’s oil and gas industry, including in particular:
Deals already agreed before Covid-19/the drop in oil and gas prices;
Sellers looking to sell to raise money; and
Buyers with cash/available credit lines looking to leverage opportunities.
Buyers and sellers have been checking the sale and purchase agreements (SPAs) that they have already signed and have been very carefully considering the SPAs that they are about to sign.
Termination provisions
SPAs often include provisions enabling one or other of the parties to terminate the SPA between signing and closing if certain circumstances arise. Generally, the objective of the seller is to achieve as much certainty as possible. Therefore, a seller will only accept very limited rights for the buyer to terminate the SPA before closing. On the other hand, the buyer will generally not want to be bound into a deal that is not as good as was expected when the SPA was signed.
Material adverse change
This enables one or both of the parties to terminate the SPA before closing if something significantly affects the value of the target asset/company. Discussions generally revolve around (i) what kind of event should be covered: political crises in the country, significant damage to the asset, significant fluctuations in oil and gas prices; and (ii) whether there should be some kind of materiality threshold: for example, a decrease of 10 to 25% in the value of the asset.
These kinds of provisions are generally fiercely negotiated and may not be accepted at all. They relate to the asset and not the financial position of the buyer (or the seller) and will generally not relate to the state of the oil and gas industry as a whole (for example a decrease in oil and gas prices – although this may be a point of negotiation).
Material breach of representations and warranties
Representation and warranties generally do not include any kind of comfort concerning oil and gas prices, availability of reserves, production levels or political issues. However, current circumstances might give rise to breaches such as:
breach of a warranty to ensure that there is no event of default under any of the existing financing arrangements: low oil prices and/or a suspension of production may trigger events of default relating to financial covenants;
breach of material project contracts (for non-performance, non-payment); and
the target is unable to pay debts as they fall due.
Price adjustment
For many deals, the price for the asset/company is fixed on a past date (a locked box date or retroactive effective date). In this case, there is a risk of value fluctuations between that date and the date of the actual closing of the deal. This can be significant where oil and gas prices or production have significantly decreased since that date. The parties may still have to close at the original price in these circumstances.
If on the other hand the price is calculated based on the value at the closing date, then the parties may be better protected against any sudden increase or decrease in oil and gas prices or production levels. Deferred price mechanisms based on future performance might also be helpful. Parties may become being more creative with pricing mechanisms in future deals, with both parties looking to mitigate their risks.
Environmental, Social and Governance issues
Before Covid-19 and the oil price collapse, ESG was the key point in the minds of most oil and gas companies and should not be forgotten.
Sellers looking for a clean exit, or buyers looking to avoid having to take on past issues, should negotiate pre- and post-closing indemnities carefully on this basis.
Foreign currency
Some countries have found themselves short of foreign currency, particularly those countries that are dependent on exports of goods (Ethiopia is an example) or oil and gas revenues (such as Nigeria and Angola).
This means that African buyers have struggled to be able to obtain the foreign currency necessary to do deals. It has also meant that foreign investors are concerned about their investments becoming cash trapped in a country.
These issues have arisen on top of the already existing issues around the tightening of regulations in certain regions (like the CEMAC region) concerning the ability to maintain offshore bank accounts.
Partner risk
Many foreign investments in Africa are through joint ventures with local partners and/or with other international investors either for legal reasons or for business reasons, or a combination of both. Many foreign companies are also dependent on local contractors
and suppliers.
Covid-19, combined with the oil and gas crisis, has not only made target companies and projects more fragile but has also made certain investors and contractors, particularly smaller investors and contractors, more fragile. In a company or project where the financial stability of each of the stakeholders is important (for example, an entity requiring shareholder funding or dependent on shareholder services), this can be a real issue. Foreign investors are therefore being increasingly diligent both with new investments and in relation to existing investments.
These circumstances may provide opportunities for larger investors to acquire bigger stakes in companies and projects. However, it may also require them to acquire additional stakes to protect their investments from the financial difficulties of their partners rather than because they wanted a larger stake.
Rebecca Major, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Where local partners or contractors have financial difficulties, international investors may prefer to support them financially rather than buy them out, because it makes legal or business sense to do so.
National sentiment
As African countries are feeling economically more fragile, some will become more protectionist in terms of foreign investments (increasing tax rates, etc). However, this is not universally the case and many countries have realised that they need the support of others either regionally or internationally.
Herbert Smith Freehills is one of the world’s leading global law firms, with 27 offices globally.
“We built the modern economy on a global logistical supply chain that could not function without oil and its downstream derivatives. This dependence on oil has enabled the broader oil industry to be remarkably profitable. It has been one of the world’s more important industrial sectors for much of the past 100 years,” writes Mike Townshend.
And because of the scale of the oil industry, it has always been closely entwined with politics. Since its genesis in the late nineteenth century, the oil industry has drawn more controversy than most others. Oil has caused wars, assassinations, man-made disasters, coups and still affects every person in the world today.
A brief history
Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait after an oil production dispute dragged the US back into Middle Eastern conflict. US efforts to secure its oil supply, principally from major producer Saudi Arabia, has embroiled it in regional conflict ever since. Ensuring Saudi stability in the strife-torn region has demanded costly US political and defense support.
More recently, elevated oil prices made new US oil fracking production profitable and the US has doubled its oil production over the past decade. The US has once again become the largest oil producer in the world, surpassing Saudi Arabia and Russia. The US is no longer reliant on imports and it is now re-evaluating its expensive and divisive Middle Eastern involvement.
In the meantime, China’s economy burgeoned and the oil-dry country is now the world’s largest oil importer. Simultaneously, Putin’s Russia is smarting at its post-communism loss of geopolitical influence. Putin has been cosying up to Chinese President Xi, realising Russia and China could work together to achieve greater global geopolitical authority.
The current oil imbroglio
In late 2016, Russia and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) worked together to support oil prices from the relatively low levels of mid-$40 per barrel. Prices recovered and a new, extended OPEC oligopoly dubbed OPEC-Plus seemed to have become entrenched.
Oil has caused wars, assassinations, man-made disasters, coups and still affects every person in the world today.
When oil prices started falling from $65 at the beginning of 2020, Putin conceived an opportunity to decimate oil prices and thus strike at the booming US shale oil industry while cementing Russia’s goodwill with oil-importer, China. In early March, he chose not to support the OPEC-Plus call for production cuts and encouraged Russian oil companies to instead ramp up production. The Saudis responded by increasing their own production and the supply glut caused a further weakening of prices.
The rapidly spreading Covid-19 pandemic was concurrently decimating global oil demand. The combination of slumping demand and rising supply saw Brent crude prices collapse to $25 per barrel. Investors should expect a six- to 18-month period, if not longer, where oil prices are volatile and likely to languish close to $40 per barrel.
Geopolitical ramifications
The shake-up of the oil sector will have a variety of geopolitical ramifications. It is still too early to establish how this will play out, but some macro consequences are becoming clearer.
Oil demand is normally correlated with the global economic cycle but is now fraught with uncertainties thrown up by an entirely new set of factors.
Firstly, OPEC’s influence should wane. As the energy transition away from fossil fuels gains momentum and the array of economically viable and less price-volatile energy sources continues to emerge, oil’s dominant position in the energy mix will decline. OPEC’s ability to set prices and thus extract geopolitical bargaining power will diminish. Conflict in the Middle Eastern arena, however, could escalate. New power blocs backed by Chinese or Russian interests will replace US involvement and look to exploit Arab nations and assert power in the region.
Secondly, Sino-Russian relations should deepen on the back of this oil crisis. Their partnership is an outcome of their shared dissatisfaction with the US – both feel antipathy towards the US and its perceived meddling in their sovereignty and interests. Russia has already become one of the biggest recipients of Chinese investments under the Belt and Road initiative. The oil war has complicated Russia’s prospects for economic growth, but its alignment with China could deliver early benefits as the latter’s economy recovers first from the Covid-19 fallout.
The uncertain path to oil price recovery
The oil price is a factor of demand and supply. On the supply side, there is now significant excess capacity in oil and related-product inventories due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This excess must be absorbed before product prices can recover. At prices below $45 per barrel, oil supply is largely in the hands of the OPEC-Plus oligopoly. At higher prices, higher-cost producers such as the US onshore fracking industry can restart production.
Oil demand is normally correlated with the global economic cycle but is now fraught with uncertainties thrown up by an entirely new set of factors. These include how quickly economies can rebound from lockdowns, whether working from home becomes the new normal and whether wary office workers avoid public transport to favour self-driving.
Mike Townshend, Fund Manager, Foord Asset Management
Bigger influences include the timing and extent of the recovery in global travel and tourism, the accelerating adoption of electric vehicles and how the global logistics supply chain is affected by de-globalisation, reshoring and the establishment of new supply lines. Many of these decisions will be made by politicians.
Uncertainty relating to supply and demand will, therefore, result in a volatile period for oil prices and oil-related investments. So, while an oil shock of this nature offers investors rare buying opportunities, they should proceed with caution.
Foord Asset Management is an owner-managed boutique built on the principles of investment stewardship.
AOW Virtual is kickstarting the African upstream following the global downtime with an unmissable two-day online conference, 7 – 8 October 2020.
Packed full of strategic outlooks, debates, and a much-anticipated government bidding round, AOW Virtual is a chance for you to engage in progressive dialogue with the sector’s most robust leaders, and best of all, content sessions are free to attend.
In addition, 1-2-1 meetings for those attending the main AOW conference in February 2021 will take place virtually and will enable meaningful conversations, re-invigorate partnerships and spark new connections that will reignite the African upstream once again.
Reconnect with AOW’s senior community following the global downtime
Align your post-pandemic approach with the sector’s most resilient leaders
Don’t miss data driven outlooks into new ventures as the world’s economies restart
Seize new business, exploration and JV opportunities emerging across the continent
Tap into a new community of prospective clients and partners
*NEW* Now CPD certified, AOW Virtual will count towards your continuing professional development
Attendance Options
Access to all content sessions, debates and the bidding round is complimentary for all and is a unique opportunity for you to experience our world-leading content totally free of charge.
1-2-1 virtual meetings will also be taking place between those registered for the main Africa Oil Week event taking place 1-5 February 2021.
If you are interested in purchasing a ticket to the next edition of Africa Oil Week and gaining access to the virtual meetings or interested in sponsoring AOW Virtual, please visit the website for details.
Massive natural gas finds in Mozambique’s Rovuma Basin could have a big impact on the economy of Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. The province is already equipped with energy and fuel infrastructure and expertise.
The Liquefied Natural Gas Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (LNG IPPPP) is part of the broader programme of the National Department of Mineral Resources and Energy which encourages private investment in renewable energy, namely the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
The total allocated to gas-to-power in the national power plan is 3 726 MW, of which 3 000 MW is for LNG.
The new gas from Mozambique could be shipped as liquefied natural gas to Maputo and continue from there to the Sasol plant at Secunda via the existing Rompco pipeline.
The promoters of the Nkomazi Special Economic Zone believe that the fact that the pipeline passes through the SEZ is a big selling point. An alternative would be for the LNG to be shipped to Richards Bay before being piped north.
Many of the big mining and manufacturing concerns in Mpumalanga have long-term contracts for the supply of gas with big gas companies. Afrox and Air Liquide are two of the biggest, with the latter having 3 500 national customers, which include Sappi and Sasol.
International chemicals and energy company Sasol has several large plants in Mpumalanga and plays a major role in the economy of Mpumalanga.
Sasol’s operations at Secunda are among the most important manufacturing facilities in Mpumalanga province. Sasol Gas is one of the four Sasol operations at Secunda. (Credit: Sasol)
Sasol Gas is one of the four Sasol operations at Secunda, supplying natural gas to Sasol Synfuels and buying Sasol Synfuels’ methane-rich pipeline gas to sell to customers in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
Sasol and the provincial government have commissioned a technical feasibility study for a Petrochemical Technology Park to be located in the province.
Sasol will be a key player when national government finalises policy on biofuels. Sasol is already making 285 000 kilolitres of absolute alcohol in ethanol from sugar fermentation annually. About 60-million litres of liquid fuel is produced each day at the coal-to-liquid plant run at Secunda. Sasol has finished its mine replacement programme and feedstock is secure until the year 2050.
Another part of the REIPPPP covers the conversion of biomass to energy. At Sappi’s Ngodwana mill, a 25 MW project is underway.
Transnet Pipelines runs a 3 800 km network of underground, high-pressure petroleum and gas pipelines throughout the eastern parts of South Africa. The company’s sophisticated multi-product pipeline (NMPP) between the coast and Gauteng transports a range of liquid products.
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SACCI believes that businesses should more actively engage in strategic and recovery implementation processes which include contingency planning, financial recovery strategies and legislative compliance challenges, as well as communication, especially with employees, to manage the psychological impact of Covid-19 imposed changes and conduct scenario analysis towards inclusive growth. This, we hope, will pave the way towards the recovery of our economy.
Environmental, Social and Governance issues
