Sasol boosts Secunda production by 20%. A decade late.

Sasol announced yesterday that it was boosting production at its Secunda plant by 20% by adding a new piece of kitt. If they had done this when every other refinery was doing the same thing, starting about 8 years back, the projected and current fuel shortages would have been staved off by a few years at least. No, at the time Sasol was in the throws of international acquisitions and used its Secunda expansion money for that purpose – funded by the taxpayer. Now the chickens have come home to roost and Sasol is adding 20% capacity – a decade late. Nice going guys. Congratulations on some really great planning.

NACALA REFINERY IS ON

MORE solid news from Mocambique. The Mocambique Government and Ayr Logistics have sealed a US$5-billion deal to build a 300 000 barrels a day oil refinery in Nacala. The refinery will be 70-percent owned by Ayr Logistics. Some 450 Mocambicans will work at the refinery. They are going to need some foreigners to help build it and train the locals to run it, though. But, hell, this seems to be a no bullshit project. Direct foreign investment by a firm you have heard about and one that has a track record -- not a bunch of wannabees. Hooray.

WALVIS BAY TO ZAMBIA AND THE DRC BY RAIL

LET'S all hope that the recent blip in the international banking system does not keep banks shy of lending money for ever. At least, that is what Namibia's officials must be thinking. They have joined the throngs of those announcing mega energy projects in our part of the world. This time Walvis Bay is the supposed recipient of the largess. Walvis Bay is that little inhabitable bit of the Nambian coast that used to belong to South Africa until we gave it to the Namibians as an independence present back in 1989. Walvis Bay, they tell us, will get US$ 200 million of foreign capital so it can expand its port faculties to handle imports to the -- wait for it -- the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. (Hmm. Most of the imports to Zambia will be paid for eventually, but it may be wise to insist on cast iron credit guarantees for the DRC). What has this got to do with energy? Well, Walvis Bay oil terminal handles 60 per cent of Namibia's petroleum product imports. If the Namibian Government decides to build some strategic stock tanks plus a little spare capacity, what's to stop Walvis being the main entry point for Zambian and DRC fuels as well? Nothing, really, once the new railway line between Grootfontein and Katima Mulilo is built. Could this be the plan? If so, it's a nice one. If international finance is not forthcoming, the Namibian Government can always twist the arms of the oil companies….Everyone knows they have pots of money.

To the ridiculous (2)

UNLIKE our neighbours, Mocambique, who make announcements of mega projects ( From the sublime) when they have lined up finance and other details, we in South Africa don't bother with such fiddling stuff. Take today's "great news" that we, and Namibia, may build a 30-MW hydro-electrical power station on the Orange river ( er, where exactly?) The main reason for this announcement seems to be to gain a place in newsprint for the name of South Africa’s Department of Minerals and Energy, chief director for electricity, one Ompi Aphane. " It is still a high-level concept,” Aphane said loftily. Details, (those bothersome things again) are still unclear, he added. This pie-in-sky was blessed by President Thabo Mbeki and his Namibian counterpart Hifikepunye Pohamba when they met in Pretoria. Ah, so that is why this " project" was announced. Flim flam to make the great men look important. No prizes for guessing which electricity generating project (ours or Mocambique's) actually gets implemented.

FROM THE SUBLIME (1)

AT LAST, something real. Mocambique plans to build a $1,7-billion hydro-electric development on the Zambezi river. Construction of a dam in northern Tete province will begin in 2009 and be finished four years later. Planned output would be 1 300 MW. Funding for the project will come from China's Export-Import Bank. A US $2,3-billion transmission line will be built from Tete to Maputo and surplus will be exported to South Africa. Contrast this announcement by the Mocambique Government with our own a week later (To the Ridiculous)