With the never-ending spiral of petrol price increases, what is government’s planning to reduce the nation’s heavy reliance on imported fuels?
With the present exorbitant cost of fuel importation, has the economies of scale not yet tipped heavily in SASOL’s favour to cost effectively increase output, thereby further reducing our reliance on importation, or are there other private vested interests which thwart such venture? As I understand it (and I stand to be corrected), our coal reserves are sound for at least another 100 years.
What about the production of petroleum fuel from plant material? Is the time not ripe to make use of existing technology for its production? After all there are hundreds of thousands hectares of uncultivated fertile land in this country which could be put to use for specifically this purpose. A pipe dream? So was the case with SASOL when originally envisaged. Sanctions gave impetus to the eventual formation of thereof.
As die nood genoeg knyp word ‘n uitweg gesoek. Miskien knyp die nood nog nie sterk genoeg nie!
Greetings
Aunty Schwartz
Kommentaar
Omtrent 15 jaar terug moes olie $28 per vat gekos het vir die Sasol proses om petrol vir dieselfde prys te produseer. Wat die prys nou is weet ek nie, maar mens kan raai dat dit nader aan $100 sal wees as alles in ag genome. Dit is nie sinvol om petrol van steenkool te maak as dit duurder is as petrol van ru-olie nie en dit is nie sinvol om ’n aanleg in stand te hou net ingeval dit winsgewend bedryf kan vir ’n maand of twee elke paar jaar nie.
Dit is moontlik om s.g. bio-diesel uit pant-olies te maak, maar die produk is ook duurder as ru-olie diesel. Daar lê nie regtig soveel verboubare grond braak in die land nie. Dit gaan ook nie noodwendig braak grond wees wat verbou word vir bio-brandstof nie. Die ondervinding in die VSA is 'n les vir enige land wat die weg wil volg: in stede daarvan dat nuwe aanplantings of plante (soos turksvye) wat in minder gunstige gebiede verbou kanword vir die fermentasie van etanol aangewend word, is die voerstof vir die industrie mielies van tradisionele bronne. Die prys van die gewas het intussen wêreldwyd gestyg en is bydraend tot voedselprys inflasie van Indië tot Israel.
Volhoubare bronne van energie kan ontwikkel word, maar dit gaan ’n langtermyn verbintenis van regerings kos en minder najaag van modegiere as oplossings.
Dear Stephen
Thank you for your feedback, much appreciated. As stated in my letter, I questioned whether the scale of economies have yet tipped in favour of greater synthetic fuel production. Evidently not yet as pointed out by yourself. The mere fact that Sasol still exists today must surely be indicative that the operation is profitable.
As is the case with wind and sun technology for electricity production, the innitial costs might seem exhorbitant compared to the lesser expensive coal and uranium infrastructures currently in place, investing for the future must surely result in greater savings and economic independance for the future generations. The heavy reliance on imported strategic fuels makes any country vulnerable to the whims of those who control such production and the major powers that control it and who use it as leverage in order to manipulate dependent countries to toe their line.
Aunty Schwartz