Total SA’s gas condensate discovery on the coast of the Western Cape will only see production in about 10 years, its CEO Patrick Pouyanne has said.
Shedding light on the technical complexity of the process, he emphasised that “these things take time. Especially in a deep offshore environment.”
The condensate contains more than just oil so in order to effectively determine the quality and properties of the gas, additional drilling and testing is required.
“Most of the delays are political rather than a question of engineering,” said Pouyanne.
In 2014, Total SA abandoned a drilling operation at its Brulpadda offshore site due to mechanical difficulties.
However, it proceeded with operations in December last year as drills were upgraded and redesigned to withstand the harsh environment and depths.
The “giant discovery”, as quoted by Stephen Larkin, CEO of Africa New Energies, is estimated to bring in R1 trillion to the South African Economy.
