- The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) would like to clarify the report contained in an article titled ‘staying ‘for now’’ published by News 24 on Saturday, 6 July 2024.
The article incorrectly stated that ‘NERSA official said the regulator had reached out to TotalEnergies for clarification following media reports that it was considering exiting its interest in block 11B/12B. Two significant offshore gas condensate finds were made at the block, the Brulpadda and Luiperd wells respectively. “We contacted them to try and get clarification about what is it that is happening there. And what they indicated is that they had initially planned to exit but following engagements that they’ve had with government and other stakeholders, they’ve decided to stay. So, it sounds like they will be staying for now on that Brulpadda project,” NERSA official said.
Related news: TotalEnergies plans to exit its discoveries of gas-condensate off the tip of South Africa
NERSA did not contact TotalEnergies, it simply provided clarification on regulatory requirements in response to the query received.
Therefore, the above statement is misleading and NERSA would like to correct the statement as follows:
- The brief talk about the TotalEnergies’s position on the Brulpadda and Luiperd gas fields happened in passing during an enquiry by TotalEnergies about regulatory requirements for gas supply;
- The enquiry was aimed at understanding the regulatory requirements applicable to the supply of gas and LNG projects. NERSA explained the applicable regulatory requirements;
- The NERSA official may have not reflected the correct position of TotalEnergies with regards to the Brulpadda and Luiperd project as the decision regarding TotalEnergies’ participation in the Brulpadda project was made by TotalEnergies;
- With regards to the decision on TotalEnergies participation in the Brulpadda and Luiperd gas project, that decision rested entirely with TotaleEnergies and NERSA was in no way trying to speak on behalf of TotalEnergies on this matter;
In addition, NERSA does not regulate activities pertaining to the upstream exploration for gas but only regulates mid-stream and downstream activities including projects pertaining to the supply and production of natural gas and LNG. As such, NERSA does not have a licensor-licensee relationship with TotalEnergies pertaining to its upstream activities.
Source: NERSA
