Updated
Updated · OilPrice.com · Jun 17
ExxonMobil Signs LNG Supply Deal for South Africa's 1st Richards Bay Terminal
Updated
Updated · OilPrice.com · Jun 17

ExxonMobil Signs LNG Supply Deal for South Africa's 1st Richards Bay Terminal

3 articles · Updated · OilPrice.com · Jun 17

Summary

  • Zululand Energy Terminal said ExxonMobil signed a preliminary agreement to supply LNG to the proposed Richards Bay facility, which would become South Africa’s first LNG import terminal.
  • The project is aimed at plugging a gas supply gap expected by 2030 as imports from Mozambique’s Pande-Temane fields decline, threatening power generation and industrial activity.
  • Richards Bay would import, store, regasify and distribute LNG to power and industrial users, supporting South Africa’s shift away from heavy coal dependence toward a more diversified energy mix.
  • The terminal is being developed by a Vopak Terminal Durban-Transnet Pipelines joint venture, and follows a separate preliminary Exxon deal announced a day earlier to supply LNG to state utility Eskom through the same hub.

Insights

As global conflicts spike LNG prices, is South Africa trading its coal crisis for a more expensive energy trap?
With renewables getting cheaper, why is South Africa betting billions on fossil fuel assets that could soon be obsolete?