Port of Richards Bay
The Vopak Terminal Durban & Transnet Pipelines joint venture selected recently as the preferred bidder for a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Richards Bay has issued an expression of interests (EOI) to test market appetite for booking capacity at the so-called Zululand Energy Terminal.
In January, the State-owned Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) announced the selection of the joint venture to design, develop, construct, finance, operate and maintain the LNG terminal for a period of 25 years.
The project is scheduled to enter commercial operation during 2027, and be developed in two phases, with Phase 1 involving a floating storage unit (FSU) of at least 135 000 m³ and an onshore regasification system with an indicative capacity of two-million tons a year.
Phase 2 is currently planned for an onshore LNG tank with an indicative capacity of
200 000 m³, which would potentially replace the FSU, as well as additional regasification capacity to increase the total capacity up to five-million tons a year, possibly by 2030.
In their EOI, Vopak Terminal Durban & Transnet Pipelines state that the proposed terminal will provide LNG receiving, storage, marine bunkering, truck loading, regasification and gas transmission pipeline services to customers on a long-term basis.
Customers would be responsible for securing their own LNG supply and would enter into a terminal user agreement with the joint venture for its services, the cost of which will be regulated by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa in line with its tariff determination guidelines.
The closing date for responses is 17:00 on April 12, with initial feedback to be provided by May 10.