South African State-owned harbours company, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), announced, at Africa Oil Week (AOW) 2024, that it was planning to develop and operate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Port of Richards Bay, in KwaZulu-Natal, on the country’s east coast. (AOW 2024 was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, this week.)

The announcement was made by TNPA GM: special projects Luvuyo Mkontwana. The LNG terminal is planned to provide the country with an LNG import facility, in order to both increase energy security and facilitate the more rapid decarbonisation of the economy. The project will be developed in phases, with Phase 1 expected to start commercial operations in 2028.

This announcement followed another, by a sister company in the Transnet group. This earlier announcement was by Transnet Pipelines. The company is planning to repurpose its Lily pipeline system so that it will carry LNG from the major port city of Durban, also in KwaZulu-Natal, to the country’s main markets in the interior. (Currently, Lily carries methane-rich gas from where it is produced, at Secunda in the inland province of Mpumalanga, to Durban.)

Gas was a major theme at AOW 2024. A significant number of oil and gas licensing rounds were announced at the conference this year, including by Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania and the semi-autonomous Tanzanian territory of Zanzibar.

Successful oil and gas exploration results, from across the continent, were also reported to the conference. These included results from the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Namibia. Updates were also given on licensing rounds and bids that were already in progress.

Although focused on oil and gas, AOW did not ignore renewable-energy sources. The continent was a rich environment for both solar and wind power, and the global energy transition, it was highlighted, offered huge opportunities for Africa.

Nor did the conference neglect the financial aspect of project development. Banks, development finance institutions, energy traders and governments proposed new ideas on deal-structuring, to ensure value to all stakeholders.