First power, now gas

 

"Cape Town ran out of gas last week and the situation in Johannesburg is no better," said Tatham. File photo
Many South Africans trying to buy gas in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town were told that the country had run out.

"The shortage of gas is severe," said George Tatham, managing director of Kaya Gas.
"It worsens in winter, due to higher demand, and the country's refineries are old, so gas production often stalls, as happened over the past two weeks in Mossel Bay and Milnerton."
The refinery in Durban is not operating at full capacity.
"Cape Town ran out of gas last week and the situation in Johannesburg is no better," said Tatham.
He said Kaya had to import gas but, because of bureaucracy, the ship remained docked in Cape Town for three days before gas to supply the Cape "until about Wednesday" could be loaded into trucks.
He said this delay affected Johannesburg too as only then could the ship sail to Maputo, which is the port that supplies Johannesburg.
Petrus Shivambu, spokesman for Easigas, said gas shortages were common, and in the Cape the situation was "dismal".
Tatham said that because of the outdated way the gas price was determined, imports carried risk.
"The gas price is set at the price of 93 octane petrol minus R74 a ton, based on the production cost to Sasol. But Sasol last updated its production costs in the 1990s, so the gas price is no longer market-related."
Shivambu said the current price discouraged investment in import terminals.
"The price needs to encourage importing to cover the shortfall," he said
Department of Energy spokesman Thandiwe Maimane said: "The National Energy Regulator has approved licences for two import facilities at Saldanha but construction is being held up by a legal wrangle between two prospective licensees.
Maimane said a programme for enhanced gas use would be announced later this year and the pricing framework would be adjusted.