The South African private sector is launching a gas company to streamline and secure the supply of natural gas to industrial customers in the country.

The decision by the Industrial Gas Users Association of Southern Africa (IGUA-SA) to form the gas supply aggregator GasCo comes ahead of a move by Sasol, amid resource constraints, to terminate supply of natural gas to downstream users in 2026, reports Engineering News. It is estimated that local industrial users of natural gas employ more than 70 000 people and contribute more than ZAR500 billion a year to the South African economy.

IGUA-SA believes that GasCo will consolidate and structure the natural gas market, ensuring secure, long-term gas infrastructure development and supply for the local manufacturing industry.

It is envisaged GasCo will act as an intermediary marketplace along the entire gas supply chain, from developing infrastructure to distributing gas to off-takers.

‘We anticipate that GasCo will be a platform to enable inclusive, effective, long-term participation alongside government, Sasol, international oil companies, gas suppliers and transporters and financial institutions, all of whom will play a critical role in the process,’ says IGUA-SA CEO Jaco Human.

16 July 2024
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