State of the Bay Report 2011-Final.pdf - Anchor Environmental

State of Saldanha Bay & Langebaan Lagoon 2011
Activities & discharges
3.3.3 Development of a Liquid Petroleum Gas Facility in Saldanha Bay
Sunrise Energy (Pty) Ltd has proposed to build an import facility for Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) in
Saldanha Bay. LPG is a fuel mix of propane and butane which is in a gaseous form at ambient
temperature, but is liquefied under increased pressure or by a temperature decrease. This plant
has been proposed in order to supplement current LPG refineries in the Western Cape and ensure
that industries dependant on LPG can remain in operation. The information presented below is
based upon the information contained in the License Application to the Department of
Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (NERSA 2010), and conveyed in a presentation to
the Saldanha Bay Water Quality Forum Trust in 2010. The project includes the following components
(Figure 3.9):
(i) An offshore marine component for the off-loading of LPG;
(ii) Onshore storage facility comprising six mild steel storage bullets (6 m in diameter and 60
m long) lying horizontally alongside each other in a mounded (buried) storage area (total
capacity 15 000 tons);
(iii) A pipeline to the on-shore storage facility;
(iv) Two transfer bullets;
(v) Rail and road gantries and access; and
(vi) A wrapped buried pipeline to industrial customers in Saldanha Bay.
Figure 3.9. An illustration of an LPG transfer scheme (Source: ERM Final Scoping Report 2011)
An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process in terms of section 24 of the National
Environmental Management Act (Act No 107 of 1998) (NEMA) was initiated by ERM with a Final
Scoping Report completed in December 2011. Potential sites being considered for the off-loading
facility are in the vicinity of the ore terminal in both Big Bay and Small Bay. The preferred site is to
the east of the Ore Terminal in Big Bay.
Three alternative marine off-loading options were initially investigated in the EIA process,
namely; jetty off-loading, single point mooring and a conventional buoy mooring (preferred option)
(ERM 2010). Protracted discussions regarding these options has delayed this component of the EIA
process. Agreement has, however, recently been reached on the way forward regarding the marine
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