March 05, 2026 [Reuters]- Dutch tank storage and ‌terminal operator Vopak has pushed back a final investment decision (FID) on South Africa’s first liquefied natural gas terminal to 2028, a senior executive said on Wednesday.

The ​company had planned to approved the project earlier this year, but ​a September court order halted power utility Eskom’s plans to develop a 3,000 ⁠megawatt gas-powered plant at Richards Bay, slowing progress.

“We were waiting to see ​what was happening with Eskom and we just extended our pre-FEED study,” Oliver Naidu, ​president of Vopak’s local unit, told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy conference, referring to an early design study.

The company now expects to be ready to make ​the final decision in the first quarter of 2028, he said.

The ​two-phase project is estimated to cost around $1 billion.

VOPAK IN CONSORTIUM PICKED TO BUILD, RUN ‌THE ⁠PROJECT

Vopak was selected in 2024 as part of a consortium with Transnet Pipelines to build and run the Zululand Energy terminal at Richards Bay port for 25 years.

Naidu said they expected to sign preliminary agreements with ​Eskom, and potentially ​U.S oil major ⁠Exxon Mobil, in the coming months for LNG use and distribution.

Exxon is one of the strong potential customers, ​he said.

ExxonMobil, a global LNG supplier, previously identified South ​Africa as ⁠a top priority market.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Zululand Energy terminal, situated along South Africa’s east coast, was expected ⁠to ​initially import 2 million tons per annum (mtpa) ​of LNG by 2027 before ramping up to 5 mtpa, the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) ​has said previously.