Johannesburg | Monday
SOUTH African fuel producer Sasol on Monday announced that its Sasol Petroleum International (SPI) had been granted approval to prospect for natural gas off Saldanha along the Western Cape coast.
”The prospecting agreement for block 3A/4A covers an area of 28 395 square km offshore western South Africa in waters ranging in depth from 0m to 300m,” a company statement said.
”Sasol is targeting gas prospects with the potential to provide low-cost natural gas to the Western Cape market.”
Sasol said three-dimensional seismic data covering 308 square km was acquired in November 2001.
The data were recorded by the PGS company of Norway using the state-of-the-art Ramform Viking seismic vessel.
”Advanced processing techniques are being applied to the data by PGS in Oslo and seismic images of the potentially gas-bearing strata (layers) will be produced over the next few months.”
Pieter Cox, chief executive of Sasol Limited, said: ”Sasol’s vision includes playing a significant role in the development of the energy markets in Southern Africa. We are a proud South African company, strongly focused on growth.”
Cox said natural gas was an ”exciting growth driver” for Sasol and this initiative in South African waters supplemented the ”very substantial” investments South Africa had already made in unlocking Mozambique’s natural gas resources.
The agreement came into effect on Monday and would last nine-and-a-half years, divided into five periods.
The first period already complete covered 24 months and had a minimum work programme covering 300 square km of new three-dimensional seismic data.
The four remaining periods were optional.
After evaluation of the three-dimensional seismic survey results, Sasol would look for partners for a drilling campaign, the statement said.
”A gas discovery in Block 3A/4A would certainly change the landscape of the, as yet undeveloped, Cape Town gas market.”
Sasol planed to make the introduction of competitively-priced, clean-burning natural gas in the Cape Town area a reality, SPI managing director Phil Vingoe said.
Approval for the prospecting work was granted by the Ministry of Minerals and Energy and the South African Agency for Promotion of Petroleum Exploration and Exploitation, known in short as the Petroleum Agency SA. – Sapa