KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian companies led by Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) will be making their inaugural presence at South Africa’s ‘Petro.t.ex Africa 2013’ in Johannesburg.
Their presence was part of the Specialised Marketing Mission on Oil and Gas Industry to South Africa and Angola from May 13 to May 19.
The national trade promotion agency said the mission aimed to provide delegates, comprising seven oil and gas companies, a platform to promote their expertise and products to the players in South Africa and Angola as well as to gain an insight on the oil and gas industry in Africa.
At the three-day Petro.t.ex Africa 2013 exhibition, Malaysian companies have been arranged with more than 100 meetings to meet potential business partners.
Delegates will also be visiting major oil and gas companies in South Africa and Angola, including Engen Petroleum Limited and Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola (SONANGOL).
In addition, sessions with relevant associations and government ministries such as South Africa Oil and Gas Alliance (Saoga) EP and Ministry of Petroleum (Minpet) Republic of Angola have been arranged by Matrade.
Products and services to be promoted by the participating companies include petroleum-based products and lubricants, catalyst bed support media, expertise and equipment in third party engineering inspection, non-destructive testing, quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) and certification services, water jetting and vacuum truck services, pond, tank and vessel maintenance services, technical support services, project management, training, education and engineering consultancy services, fabrication of cabin modular, safety training, specialised services for catalyst loading/unloading and mechanical works/plant maintenance.
Matrade said South Africa had one of the world’s largest synthetic fuel industries which accounted for approximately all of its domestic liquid fuels supply.
The country has the second largest crude oil refinery system in Africa and imports the majority of its crude oil from members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), it said.
In 2011, South Africa produced 45 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas and consumed 162 Bcf while Angola is the second largest oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria.
With 9.5 billion barrels of proven reserves, the country ranks second largest in Sub-Saharan Africa and 18th worldwide.
Angola’s oil sector is progressing at a fast pace with foreign investors considering several onshore opportunities economically viable.
Angola has proven reserves of natural gas of 10.95 trillion cubic feet, the fifth largest endowment in Africa.
Matrade is confident the mission will be a breakthrough for Malaysian oil and gas companies to make in-roads into South Africa and Angola and increase exports of oil and gas services and products to these two countries. — Bernama