In a letter sent to customers on Wednesday afternoon, Egoli Gas said it had received formal notification from Sasol Gas of operational challenges affecting gas operations in Mozambique.
Dennis Shevchuk/ Getty Images
- Sasol has warned of potential gas supply issues out of Mozambique due to severe weather and flooding.
- The warning was passed on by Egoli Gas in an email to its customers on Wednesday afternoon.
- Supply is currently stable and Egoli described Sasol’s communication as a “precautionary” force majeure notification.
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Sasol has warned of potential disruptions to the supply of natural gas from Mozambique after severe weather and flooding affected operations across the border, prompting the company to invoke force majeure provisions on a precautionary basis.
In a letter sent to customers on Wednesday afternoon, Johannesburg-based piped gas supplier Egoli Gas said it had received formal notification from Sasol Gas of “operational challenges currently affecting the Central Processing Facility (CPF) in Mozambique”.
Egoli said Sasol had indicated that heavy rainfall and flooding had caused extensive road damage and closures in Mozambique, limiting access to critical resources.
“These conditions are restricting access to resources and are affecting condensate transportation, as well as gas production and supply,” Egoli told customers.
The authenticity of the communication was confirmed to News24 by an Egoli spokesperson.
Egoli is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reatile Group and has sourced its natural gas from Sasol for decades, with supply secured from the group’s Pande and Temane gas fields in Mozambique until at least 2028.
Egoli supplies natural gas to more than 8 500 residential, commercial and industrial customers through a 1 200 km underground network across the greater Johannesburg area. Its customer base includes major corporates such as MTN, Standard Bank, Food Lover’s Market, Absa and Discovery.
Sasol Gas, meanwhile, operates and maintains more than 3 500 km of gas pipelines, spanning four provinces. Its network supports 485 supply points and serves over 300 commercial and wholesale customers, “forming the backbone of industrial growth and energy resilience”, the company says on its website.
In an emailed response to News24, Egoli Gas General Manager Erika Da Cruz, said Sasol Gas’ communication to customers was a “precautionary” force majeure notification intended to advise customers of the situation formally, and allow for operational flexibility, should conditions deteriorate further.
“The notice issued by Sasol reflects a precautionary measure rather than an indication of an immediate or widespread supply interruption,” she said, adding that Sasol has implemented mitigation measures within its system, including optimising production from available wells and reducing internal consumption at certain facilities, to maintain overall system stability.
While Egoli Gas has notified its customers accordingly, Da Cruz said gas supply to customers remains stable and the company continues to operate its network under normal conditions.
Da Cruz said Egoli Gas is actively monitoring the situation in close engagement with Sasol Gas and will continue to keep customers informed should there be any material change. “At present, there is no requirement for customers to alter their operations or gas usage,” she said. “We would like to reassure the market that contingency planning is in place and that Egoli Gas remains focused on maintaining safe, reliable, and uninterrupted gas supply to its customers.”
Sasol confirmed on Wednesday evening that gas supply to the “external market” remains uninterrupted. The severe weather conditions caused damage to road infrastructure between Maputo and the CPF production facilities in Mozambique and have resulted in the interruption of road transportation of condensate from the CPF facilities.
“Managing the available storage for condensate at the facility has necessitated a temporary reduction in gas production and supply to our Secunda and Sasolburg Operations.
“This is aimed at maintaining stability at the CPF and within the pipeline network while alternative solutions are explored for the condensate transportation,” Sasol said.
“Our operations continue according to plan.”
