It is believed that South Africa is potentially rich in indigenous oil and gas resources, and, in February 2019, the multinational energy group Total, along with its partners, announced the discovery of a large gas field off the South-eastern coast, with a potential find of 1 billion barrels of "wet" gas.
An analysis of exploration maps demonstrates that petrochemical and maritime sectors in Nelson Mandela Bay are perfectly positioned to benefit from both the mining of inland shale gas resources in the Karoo basin as well as any further offshore discoveries and production along this coast.
As part of its Gas-to-Power Programme, the national Department of Energy has identified the Coega Special Economic Zone in the Metro as the best possible site to build a new 1 000MW liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant.
Another recent development in the local sector includes the commencement of operations, in 2015, of a privately-owned 335 MW open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) power plant (“Dedisa”) also in Coega, Nelson Mandela Bay. The facility supplies electricity to the national grid during peak demand hours as well as during emergency situations.