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Cape Town - PetroSA's proposed refinery at Coega will, during its four- or five-year construction stage, give 30 000 people jobs, which could save the country's balance of payments R18.5bn/year. So says Jörn Falbe, vice-president for new enterprises at the state-controlled oil company.
The 400 000 barrel/day refinery will be completed by 2014, and meet the region's fuel needs until 2021.
It's the biggest project that PetroSA has tackled so far, and is intended to become a world-class refinery. The fuel it produces will comply with Euro V product specifications, compared with the Euro II with which South Africa's existing refineries comply.
The refinery is designed to process a wide range of crude oil types - from the heavy crude oil from Brazil and Venezuela to the lighter crude from Angola.
The marketable product will yield 95% per barrel, and the remaining 5% will be used to generate power for the refinery, which will therefore be able to function independently of Eskom.
The refinery will use advanced technology to enable it to manufacture as much as possible of the so-called distillate - diesel, aircraft fuel and paraffin - which is more valuable.
Falbe says the refinery project is part of the drive to make PetroSA a world-class company. "It's a difficult task. Many people do not think Africa can do anything that is world-class."
PetroSA was formed in 2002 from a merger between the Mossgas gas-to-fuel company and exploration parastatal Soekor. The initial challenge was to consolidate the separate businesses.
PetroSA's current aim is to help ensure security of fuel supply, and building a new refinery is part of this objective.
Africa's existing refineries are too small to compete on an international scale while, says Falbe, no other country in Africa currently has the ability to build a world-class refinery.
South Africa's oil refineries were built mainly in the 1950s and 1960s, and it would cost billions to upgrade such outdated plants to Euro IV or Euro V standards.
- Sake24