Mmegi

Local firms race to plug Southern Africa’s looming gas shortage

Burning bright: Tlou Energy is the country’s most advanced gas project
Burning bright: Tlou Energy is the country’s most advanced gas project

SASOL, the region’s main supplier of industrial gas, plans to shut off its taps in 2026, triggering a supply crisis that South Africa developers are scrambling to resolve. Locally however, two firms boast the region’s most advanced gas projects and are eager to step in, reports MBONGENI MGUNI

Gabaake Gabaake, executive director at Tlou Energy and minerals sector veteran, calls natural gas “probably one of the most widely used substances in industry”. The gas, in its various forms, powers everything from electricity generation to heating for homes. It is used for numerous industrial chemicals and can be converted to fuels amongst many other applications.

For ordinary Batswana, gas is most commonly used in the form known as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), the cooking gas used by hundreds of thousands of households across the country. Available figures show that annual usage of LPG in the country grew by 50 percent to 21 million litres between 2010 and 2020, as more Batswana moved away “dirtier” sources such as paraffin and firewood.

Editor's Comment
Ramogapi & Co should clear the Bonno confusion

According to a report elsewhere in this publication, various district councils announced that a one-bedroom home now costs over P130,000 more, a near-unthinkable 32% increase. This isn't just a minor adjustment, but a devastating blow to the dream of affordable home ownership for ordinary citizens.What is most alarming is not just the scale of the increase, but the profound confusion it has exposed. Minister Ramogapi has publicly...

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