Quo vadis Nersa?

With the awarding of a pipeline license to Transnet, Nersa is fast establishing itself as a mouthpiece of the Cabinet and the DME. There is manifest confusion about who actually awards licences that Spigot can only surmise that Nersa is a puppet of the DME and the Cabinet. So what real value does it have when it simply endorses decisions already made higher up? It leaves the Act, with its laudable and lofty aims of competitiveness and free enterprise in the sector in tatters. Viva socialist centralization! Viva Nxocina! Viva National Interest! Viva!

Howzit my China

Sasol in ‘hardnosed negotiations’ to build two GTL plants in China? What about the one in Qatar that still has to produce one liter of fuel? And that has gone $50 million over budget? And that has gone more than 6 months over the stipulated build period?

Hardnosed may be the way that Sasol describes its negotiations with the Chinese but Spigot guesses that Sasol’s ‘hardnosed’ is simply regular Chinese negotiation technique. Lets see if Sasol can pull off this one without getting a bruised nose like it did in Qatar.

Fischer –Troppf goes after state incentives for biofools.

True to form, our Rosebank friends are again snuffling at the public purse for handouts. Not satisfied with decades of publicly-funded support (when oil was $10 a barrel) , their continued advantage on pipeline tariffs and their usurious retail margins, Sasol is now applying pressure on government for industry incentives to produce biofools. It must be assumed that they will be also using that other little leverage – a new GTL plant in the Waterberg or Free State – to convince government to open the tax coffers on soya oil. No handoutee, no fuelee, Mr. Gavameent.

Enough already from this lumpy playing field. Can’t someone get a grader and level things out?

An oil refinery at Coega?

A "Black economic empowerment entrepreneurial company" (whatever that means) called Bidevco is reported to be studying the feasibility of building a possible oil refinery in the Eastern Cape at Coega. As is normal these days, consultants -- who are never previously disadvantaged South Africans -- are hard at work. Spigot does not know the chief operating officer of Bidevco but is willing to bet Jacques van Wyk is not historically disadvantaged either. The named consultants are Brazilian which means there is a chance that they may be the right colour but there is no guarrantee. There are also Japanese and Canadians involved and some South Africans The Coega Industrial Development Zone has been one of the areas earmarked for the possible location of the new 200,000barrels a day refinery, but Van Wyk states that several potential sites are under investigation, including possible synergies with existing refinery infrastructure. Really?Like who? There used to be a phrase to describe this sort of thing, Spigot recalls: "Kite flying". Entrepreneurial doesn't describe it.

Roll over Rockefeller

It's not April so maybe there is something in the report from Canada that a way been found to burn water. That's right. They can now burn water. Apparently, a bloke called John Kanzius has found that as long as water is exposed to certain radio frequencies, it will burn. Radio frequencies weaken the bonds between the elements that make up salt water, releasing hydrogen. Once lit, the hydrogen burns as long as it is exposed to the frequencies. Check out the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for more details and Youtube for a short film. What will the Greenies make of this, Spigot wonders? "The oceans will burn up!" Yup, no need to fear the death of a cause. Might be a bit tricky to blame the oil companies though.