Energy conference, expo for Johannesburg

Petro.t.ex Africa organiser Mark Burridge of Fair Consultants

Apart from updates on projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, the conference will address the major factors influencing and challenging the retail fuel sector, clean fuels and specifications and the latest technologies and innovations benefiting the industry.

"Africa is a rich source of oil and will play a strategic role in the future global oil industry," says Mark Burridge from Fair Consultants, organisers of the event. "Africa's oil and gas reserves are vastly underutilised and present considerable opportunities for fostering partnerships in infrastructure development. These opportunities will be discussed in detail at the conference."

Industry support

The events have support from Enterprise Development: Oil and Gas, South African Supplier Development Agency (SASDA), the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), the South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA), the Minerals and Energy Education and Training Institute (MEETI), the Corrosion Institute of South Africa (CorrISA), and the South African Petroleum Retailers' Association (SAPRA).

"According to the US Energy Information Administration, two of the top ten oil producing countries supplying crude oil to the US are in Africa," adds Burridge. "Nigeria is fourth on the list with a total of 968 000 barrels per day, and Angola is ninth with 294 000 barrels per day."

African projects

Many projects put on hold during the recession are being reviewed and new projects continue to be planned. Burridge confirms that Angola's state-owned refinery, Sonangol, is looking for partners for its $8-billion project to build a 200 000 barrels per day refinery in Lobito, Southern Angola. The planned refinery will produce five times the output of Angola's only other refinery.

BP announced in March that it would invest $200-million in infrastructure development in South Africa over the next two years. This would include pipelines and it added that it is ready to invest above and beyond this in the "right" regulatory environment.

Angola, the second largest exporter of oil in Africa, has a number of projects underway. The Soyo Liquefied Natural Gas Project has a total contract value of $222-million; its product will be delivered into the US natural gas market in 2012. The new Sonaref Refinery in Angola, currently under construction, will have capacity to process 200,000 barrels of oil a day.

Nigeria is Africa's top oil producer and its refineries have the capacity to process 445 000 barrels of crude a day. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the China State Construction Engineering Corporation are looking for $23-billion in funding to build three new oil refineries and a petrochemical complex.

Latest news following South Africa's admission to the BRICS bloc is that the China Development Bank will channel $1,5-billion to China's BRICS partners to fund oil and gas projects among other infrastructure projects.

Innovations on show

Repeat exhibitor Sasol Lubricants will showcase a range of products, including compressor oils, hydraulic oils, industrial gear and hydraulic combination oils, multipurpose and high performance speciality greases, process and base oils, speciality oils and turbine oils.

Other exhibitors include Joint Venture Pump Services and Southern Africa Master Distributors showcasing fuel pumps and dispensers, fuel insurance specialists Garagesure, Sapphire Logistics which supplies forecourt uniforms and equipment, Smartfuel Pump, IT and data management specialists and Turbofluid, which handles installation, repair, maintenance and technical back-up for all types of pumps and steam turbines.

Visitors and exhibitors can pre-register and use the free internet-based business matchmaking programme to arrange pre-profiled, pre-selected and pre-scheduled matchmaking meetings for all three days of the show. For more information, go to www.fairconsultants.com.