South Africa's Rompco Keen to Develop New Pipes

Rompco, the company that built and operates the 865km pipe that moves gas from Mozambiques’s Pande and Temane fields to South Africa, is keen to take on other pipeline projects.

Louis Bosch, Rompco’s general manager, told a November 29 media briefing in Johannesburg that its ambition is to “link any gas source with markets.”

The pipeline builder and operator is a partnership between South African energy group Sasol and the governments of South Africa and Mozambique, but Bosch stressed: “Rompco does not just build pipelines for Sasol. We are keen to build more pipelines.”

Existing Rompco installations (Photo credit: Rompco)

Nor would future projects have to be cross-border. They could support the development of a gas economy within South Africa, he explained.

“If there is a need for transmission pipelines in South Africa, that is part of the scope of our business. If there are developments around shale gas, we would be interested in this.”

Rompco’s preferred model is to build and operate a pipeline, rather than to just construct the infrastructure. Its current focus is on South Africa and Mozambique, where it says it is willing to increase capacity in its existing pipeline system, if additional gas becomes available.

South Africa’s energy regulator Nersa has rejected an initial tariff application, due to be provided following a rand 2.7bn ($195mn) loop line for the current pipe from Mozambique. Rompco expressed concern about the delay in approving a new tariff, which was due to take effect from January 2017.

John Fraser, Johannesburg