The Central Energy Fund (CEF) of South Africa plans to commission a new 300,000 bbl/d (15 Mt/year) refinery on the east coast of the country by 2028. The US$10bn project would be developed in partnership with Saudi Arabia's national oil company Saudi Aramco. The project is still at an early phase of development and the pre-feasibility study is expected to be completed in the next few weeks; it would then be followed by a more detailed feasibility study to define the design and precise capital cost estimates and by the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase. The project would feed a related petrochemical complex at Richards Bay (cost not specified, on top of the US$10bn refinery project) and would also supply fuels in the whole region. It is expected to reduce the need for oil products imports, which mainly come from Saudi Arabia (40%), and will strengthen Saudi Arabia's positions in the South African oil sector.
South Africa has six operational refineries with a combined capacity of 560,000 bbl/d (28 Mt/year) and has been struggling for more than a decade to find investors for developing a new refinery.
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