Transnet Pens Lpg Deal To Avert Looming Gas Cliff

South Africas liquefied petroleum gas LPG day zero, predicted for June 2026 after Sasol announced it would stop supplying gas from Mozambique, has been averted by an innovative partnership between Transnet Freight Rail TFR and Singaporean company, Petredec, in which the LPG logistics firm will introduce South Africas first scheduled LPG train system, with each 75-wagon trainset capable of transporting over 2 500 tons of LPG.

Initially operating up to three times per week, the arrangement is expected to plug the void anticipated to gape open on the back of Sasols announcement last year that it will be halting supply to downstream consumers from 2026 partly because it had failed to find sufficient reserves to replace an anticipated tapering of supply from southern Mozambique and partly because Sasol plans to use the remaining gas to displace coal at its own operations to support its de-carbonisation.

In a statement yesterday, TFR and Petredec said the landmark project, featuring a dedicated train system, modern LPG intermodal hub and storage facility at Sentrarand in Benoni, Gauteng, marked a significant milestone and investment in the countrys energy infrastructure, which is needed to meet the growing demand for LPG over the coming decades.

The hub will receive bulk LPG via rail from the initial load point at the Richards Bay LPG terminal in KwaZulu-Natal, developed in partnership with Bidvest Tank Terminals in 2020.

The new LPG hub at Sentrarand, Benoni will serve as a much-needed staging post for South Africas economic heartland and the broader SADC region.