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Johannesburg - A battle is raging to control the strategic port of Saldanha Bay as an import route for liquified petroleum gas (LPG) just as the lack of import facilities is once again leading to a supply crunch, City Press reported on Sunday.
Sunrise Energy, a company 49%-owned by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), is trying to block rival Avedia Energy from erecting its own LPG terminal at the port.
Avedia Energy accuses Sunrise of trying to establish a monopoly and “sterilise” Saldanha as a source of LPG competition, which could lead to lower domestic prices.
Sunrise is also appealing against Avedia’s environmental approvals and is trying to get the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) to reject the rival’s application to erect its tanks.
The tanks, worth about R80m, have already been imported and are waiting on site pending Nersa’s approval.
The emerging fight is taking place as the government plans to promote LPG as a major energy source in South Africa, as an alternative to scarce electricity and a safer alternative to paraffin and wood.
There are plans to expand or establish LPG import facilities at several South African ports but Saldanha has the advantage of being on the same coast as major LPG sources Angola and Nigeria, as well as feeding into South Africa’s largest LPG market, the Western Cape.
Sunrise said it can have phase one of its terminal running by mid-2015 while Avedia said it can import LPG by the end of this year.
Read the full article on City Press.
- City Press
Sunrise Energy, a company 49%-owned by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), is trying to block rival Avedia Energy from erecting its own LPG terminal at the port.
Avedia Energy accuses Sunrise of trying to establish a monopoly and “sterilise” Saldanha as a source of LPG competition, which could lead to lower domestic prices.
Sunrise is also appealing against Avedia’s environmental approvals and is trying to get the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) to reject the rival’s application to erect its tanks.
The tanks, worth about R80m, have already been imported and are waiting on site pending Nersa’s approval.
The emerging fight is taking place as the government plans to promote LPG as a major energy source in South Africa, as an alternative to scarce electricity and a safer alternative to paraffin and wood.
There are plans to expand or establish LPG import facilities at several South African ports but Saldanha has the advantage of being on the same coast as major LPG sources Angola and Nigeria, as well as feeding into South Africa’s largest LPG market, the Western Cape.
Sunrise said it can have phase one of its terminal running by mid-2015 while Avedia said it can import LPG by the end of this year.
Read the full article on City Press.
- City Press
