Name of the Project
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.

Location
Around the town of Leandra, in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province – a carbon emissions hotspot and the location of several coal-fired power stations, as well as Sasol’s Secunda coal-to-liquids fuel plant.

Project Owner/s
Council for Geoscience (CGS).

Project Description
South Africa is Africa’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, releasing an estimated 470-million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, with coal providing the bulk of its electricity.

Geological mapping at the country’s first CCS site, where it plans to inject vast quantities of carbon dioxide deep underground, has started.

The project will link a pipeline transporting compressed carbon dioxidefrom major emitting sources, such as Secunda, directly to the identified injection site that is overlain with an "impermeable rock cap". CGS plans to test the feasibility of injecting between 10 000 to 50 000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year to a depth of at least 1 km. South Africa has about 150 Gt of potential storage capacity, mainly in offshore basins on the east and west coast.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
The total budget for the project is $38-million, which is jointly funded by the World Bank and the South African government.

Planned Start/End Date
First injection is expected in late 2023 or early 2024.

Latest Developments
Sasol has said there is a collaboration agreement in place to assist with the test site, which aims to assess the technical feasibility of CCS in the area.

Sasol intends to provide relevant information pertaining to geological maps and analyses, as well as groundwater and air-quality information, besides other information. It will also provide industrial carbon dioxide for the sequestration assessment.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
CGS, tel +27 12841 1911 or email info@geoscience.org.za.