STATE-owned oil and gas company PetroSA would recommend to the government that it hold a 37,5% interest in the proposed $10bn crude refinery in Coega, near Port Elizabeth, PetroSA CEO Sipho Mkhize said last week.

ISEKO NJOBENI

The level of PetroSA’s interest in the 400000 barrel-a-day plant would determine the extent of government financial support required for the project as well as its attractiveness to prospective investors.

PetroSA wanted external investors to take a stake in the project. Mkhize said PetroSA would submit a memorandum to the Cabinet later this month suggesting the level of shareholding in the project.

Several companies had expressed interest in the project. However, Mkhize said he could not identify the prospective investors except to say most of them were from “the east”.

PetroSA expected the front end engineering and design work to commence within the first four months of next year. Because the front-end engineering and design work was expected to last for a year, the final investment decision would be made in early 2011 and construction was scheduled to commence later that year.

The refinery, or Project Mthombo, was due for commissioning in late 2014 or early 2015. It was on schedule, “give or take six months”, Mkhize said.

Meanwhile, he said they expected the first oil from its oil field project in Venezuela in 18 to 24 months after concluding a technical study which should take six months.

Source: Business Day