South African national oil company PetroSA remains confident in avoiding Western sanctions as it selects Russia’s Gazprombank Africa as its preferred investment partner for restarting the Mossel Bay refinery.
Despite sweeping sanctions on Russia’s financial sector following the Ukraine invasion, Gazprombank was targeted to a lesser extent. PetroSA officials assert that, after seeking legal advice, they believe the deal with Gazprombank to restart the gas-to-liquid (GTL) refinery will not violate Western sanctions, according to Reuters.
The 45,000 bpd Mossel Bay GTL plant has been under care and maintenance since 2020 due to dwindling domestic offshore gas resources. PetroSA is seeking investors to restore operations amid concerns about fuel supply security following the closure of its largest refineries.
The decision to select Gazprombank is subject to a final investment decision expected by April. The GTL plant is a crucial element in negotiations between TotalEnergies and PetroSA over a gas supply agreement connecting a TotalEnergies gas discovery to a PetroSA offshore platform.
