investment in fuel infrastructure
26 February 2009
Reduced fuel demand in South Africa should not lull the sector players into
a false sense of security and now is the time to accelerate investments in fuel
infrastructure. So says Advocate Sandile Nogxina, Director General of the
Department of Minerals and Energy.
Nogxina who was a keynote speaker at the inaugural African Minerals and
Energy Forum (AMEF), seminar on Clean Fuels in Johannesburg today, said this
acceleration would ensure the country was ready for boom times and economic
activity in the country would be increased.
AMEF is a heavyweight, non-aligned energy issues think tank, constituted as
a trust, with a wide brief as a forum for energy solutions and training and
skills development in the energy sector at large.
South Africa would follow in the footsteps of the European Union with
successive phases of cleaner fuels over time said Nogxina. A timetable had been
announced so that there would be ample warning for investors. That timetable
had since been revised and a move to euro four standards of cleaner fuels had
been shifted from 2010.
It had been deemed prudent that the next set of specifications should
primarily be driven by environmental considerations and national imperatives as
encapsulated in the regulatory framework of the Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism (DEAT).
"It is our understanding that the fuel industry would require about four to
five years to make required plant modifications to produce products that comply
with more stringent specifications," he said.
"Naturally this timetable will come under attack from those who are
reluctant to make the necessary refinery investments.
"Moving to higher levels of fuel specifications is a certainty. I am in the
process of consulting my colleagues at DEAT to include this matter in their
priority list.
"We must strive for a robust set of specifications, one that will not lead
to a third phase as soon as we finish the second one.
"The introduction of cleaner fuels in South Africa was not a single event
but rather a process marked by key milestones. It, regrettably, had to be
driven by Government regulation rather than industry leadership or market
forces and that statement alone gives you and indication of the kinds of
challenges that have been encountered along the way."
The imperatives underpinning Government's approach had been threefold:
public health, environmental concerns and fuel Compatibility with modern
internal combustion engines and vehicle emission equipment he added.
Enquiries:
Sandile Nogxina
Tel: 012 679 9179
E-mail: sandilen@dme.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Minerals and Energy
26 February 2009
Source: SAPA
