Natural gas is the optimal fuel for South Africa’s energy transition: cleaner, cheaper, and with greater potential than most other resources, according to NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.

The recent policy brief titled “Natural Gas as a Transition Fuel in South Africa,” produced by Eye for Business, emphasises the crucial need to access and use the abundant underground resource.

In the brief, commissioned by The EnerGeo Alliance — a global trade alliance for the energy geoscience industry — it states: “Among alternatives, there is a compelling case for investing in natural gas as the most prudent stepping stone to a low-carbon future of power generation.”

With significant natural gas discoveries in the country such as Brulpadda, potential Karoo shale reserves, and upcoming offshore finds, it is prudent to utilise these resources for energy stability.

“Countries that have used gas as a source for power generation have experienced a threefold increase in their electricity supply growth over the past 10 years compared to those unable to use gas,” says the Eye for Business’ brief.

For South Africa’s industrial sector to grow, it requires more feedstocks to produce fertilizers and petrochemicals. These essential chemicals are derived from natural gas, which also provides the necessary heat energy to produce cement, steel, and other industrial products.

The most cost-effective

Leveraging South Africa’s natural gas resources during its energy transition will be more cost-effective when compared to alternatives. When assessing the costs of different types of electric power plants, it’s evident that the costs per kilowatt hour to build solar, biomass, nuclear, wind, and coal plants are all more than twice as high as the cost to build natural gas plants.

This difference is largely due to the modular construction methods used for natural gas plants. These methods make them easier to scale and customise to their locations, avoiding the cost overruns typical of larger facility projects.

A cost-effective method of building natural gas plants involves converting inactive coal-fired power plants. This approach is a win-win as it repurposes unused plants to produce cleaner energy while avoiding unnecessary expenses.

Natural gas, which emits 50% to 60% less carbon than coal, making it a cleaner fuel option, the brief says. It contributes only a small amount to global emissions, and this can be further reduced with the use of carbon capture and storage technology.

It is important to keep in mind that Africa as a whole, with about 17% of the world’s population, contributes only 4% of global carbon emissions at 1,45 billion tonnes.

The most potential

Increased investment in and use of natural gas could yield significant benefits for South Africa, including job creation and the potential to become a net exporter.

The expansion of the country's gas infrastructure for drilling, transportation, and electricity production will create new job opportunities. It will be important to train young managers and workers in the necessary skills to run and maintain these operations.

The country also has a significant opportunity to boost its economy through exports. Europe has reduced its imports of Russian gas, creating an opportunity for South Africa to access the European market after meeting its own energy needs.

Government support for the country’s draft Gas Master Plan and the National Development Plan (NDP) will be essential to diversify South Africa's energy sources. The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) aims to align with these goals, projecting an additional 29 500 MW of electricity capacity by 2030, with 3 000MW expected to come from gas, states the Eye for Business’ brief.