September 08, 2025 [NERSA]- The Energy Regulator, at its meeting held on 28 August 2025, approved the application by Cape Ocean Terminals (Pty) Ltd for a combined licence (Licence No. PPL.sf.p.F1/356/2025) to construct a petroleum storage facility to be located in the Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone and a pipeline connecting it to Berth 104 at the Port of Saldanha, Western Cape.

The overall greenfield fuel storage terminal development project, named Project Albatross, is envisaged to be constructed in three phases, bringing the total potential storage capacity to 390,000m³. Phase 1, which the Energy Regulator approved, will consist of eight storage tanks with a licensable combined design capacity of 155,120m³, as well as auxiliary assets that include pumps, road loading gantries and slops tanks to operate the facility. The six storage tanks have a design capacity of 20,640m³ each, while the other two storage tanks have a design capacity of 15,640m³ each.

The pipeline will be a 20-inch (500mm diameter) with a length of 3km from the tie-in point on the Strategic Fuel Fund Association’s (SFF) common user bidirectional pipelines to the storage facility. The auxiliary infrastructure will also include two accumulation tanks.

‘The approval of this licence application supports the Government’s objectives, particularly the promotion of infrastructure investment, orderly development and transformation within the petroleum sector, while also fostering local economic development in the Saldanha Bay area,’ said Mr Muzi Mkhize, NERSA FullTime Regulator Member Primarily Responsible for Petroleum Pipelines Regulation.