Free State Business 2023
The 2023 edition of Free State Business is the 13th issue of this successful publication that, since its launch in 2008, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Free State. Sasol, one of the biggest industrial enterprises in the province, has announced that it may have found a way to keep running the Natref refinery far into the future, because of new and cleaner technologies that it is investigating. Gold miners Harmony and Sibanye-Stillwater are prospecting for new reefs. And the provincial tourism authorities are putting their minds to creating new ways of attracting new local tourists to various eco-tourism products. All of these news items and more are contained in the sector overviews that outline the characteristics of the main economic sectors of the province, and report on the latest news in those sectors as well. One of the most active sectors is a new one – natural gas and helium, which is being vigorously pursued by Renergen through its Virginia Gas Project. Significant investments are being attracted into the newly-established Maluti-A-Phofung Special Economic Zone (MAP SEZ) in the northern part of the province and a steel mill is under construction at the Botshabelo Industrial Park east of Bloemfontein. Special features on investment incentives and starting a business are included in this edition.
The 2023 edition of Free State Business is the 13th issue of this successful publication that, since its launch in 2008, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Free State.
Sasol, one of the biggest industrial enterprises in the province, has announced that it may have found a way to keep running the Natref refinery far into the future, because of new and cleaner technologies that it is investigating. Gold miners Harmony and Sibanye-Stillwater are prospecting for new reefs. And the provincial tourism authorities are putting their minds to creating new ways of attracting new local tourists to various eco-tourism products.
All of these news items and more are contained in the sector overviews that outline the characteristics of the main economic sectors of the province, and report on the latest news in those sectors as well. One of the most active sectors is a new one – natural gas and helium, which is being vigorously pursued by Renergen through its Virginia Gas Project. Significant investments are being attracted into the newly-established Maluti-A-Phofung Special Economic Zone (MAP SEZ) in the northern part of the province and a steel mill is under construction at the Botshabelo Industrial Park east of Bloemfontein. Special features on investment incentives and starting a business are included in this edition.
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OVERVIEW<br />
The Virginia Gas Project has achieved a significant testing<br />
milestone. Credit: Renergen<br />
pressure to come up with cleaner methods, the joint operators of<br />
the refinery, Sasol and TotalEnergies, have announced that a new<br />
way of producing low-sulphur diesel is on the cards.<br />
As of July 2022, the Natref refinery was the only functioning<br />
South African refinery, so its strategic importance can not be<br />
underestimated. It is a technologically-advanced facility, which<br />
refines heavy crude oil into petrol, diesel, commercial propane,<br />
jet fuel and bitumen. The refinery has also started on 10-year<br />
emissions-reduction programme.<br />
The chemical complex at Sasolburg is the economic driver<br />
of the oil and gas sector for the province. One of the Sasol<br />
companies at Sasolburg, Sasol New Energy, is moving the group<br />
away from reliance on fossil fuels. In 2020 Sasol called for bidders<br />
construct an embedded 10MW solar PV facility at Sasolburg. The<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
Petroleum Agency South Africa: www.petroleumagencysa.com<br />
South African Oil and Gas Alliance: www.saoga.org.za<br />
South African Petroleum Industry Association: www.sapia.co.za<br />
company’s larger goal across<br />
all its sites is eventually to<br />
procure 600MW of renewable<br />
energy and achieve a 10%<br />
greenhouse gas (GHG)<br />
emission reduction by 2030.<br />
Sasolburg Operations<br />
is one of the five operating<br />
hubs that forms part of the<br />
Southern African Operations<br />
and is a 100%-owned facility.<br />
Sasolburg Operations includes<br />
all operations on the Sasol One<br />
and the Sasol Midland sites.<br />
The integrated manufacturing<br />
facility is responsible for<br />
the production of base and<br />
performance chemicals. It<br />
also produces electricity and<br />
other utilities and provides sitesupport<br />
services to enable the<br />
manufacturing processes taking<br />
place on site.<br />
The African Oil Blending<br />
Corporation (AOBC) has<br />
announced that it will spend<br />
R130-million on repurposing<br />
and upgrading its Harrismith<br />
lubricant blending facility.<br />
The new focus will be on<br />
producing water-based and<br />
monoethylene glycol-based<br />
coolants for the industrial and<br />
automotive sectors.<br />
The regulator and promoter<br />
of oil and gas exploration<br />
in South Africa, Petroleum<br />
Agency South Africa, has<br />
awarded coalbed methanegas<br />
exploration rights in<br />
KwaZulu-Natal and natural gas<br />
exploration permits in the <strong>Free</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong>. Early surveys suggest that<br />
the <strong>Free</strong> <strong>State</strong> has 23-billion<br />
cubic feet of gas underground.<br />
Tests have begun in the Karoo<br />
in search of shale gas. ■<br />
33 FREE STATE BUSINESS <strong>2023</strong>
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