Transnet

Transnet Pipelines

Transnet Pipelines, formerly known as Petronet, the custodian of the country’s strategic pipeline assets, is currently servicing two key industries, fuel and gas, by transporting petroleum and gas products over varying distances. Established in 1965, the company is integral to the wellbeing of the South African economy.

The business handles an annual average throughput of some 16 billion litres of liquid fuel and more than 450 million cubic metres of gases. The liquid products include crude oil as well as diesel, leaded and unleaded petrol and aviation turbine fuels.

The Pipeline Network

The liquid fuels network traverses the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Gauteng, North West and Mpumalanga. The intake stations are the two Durban refineries - the crude refinery at Coalbrook (Natref) and the Sasol 2 and Sasol 3 synfuel plants at Secunda. The network includes a tank farm, at Tarlton, with a capacity of 30 million litres which is used mainly for storage and the distribution of liquid fuels into Botswana.

The gas pipeline, a converted line previously used for liquids, runs from Secunda to Durban via Empangeni. It has take-off points at Newcastle and Richards Bay as well as along the route between Empangeni and Durban.

All Transnet Pipelines' pipelines conform to ASME B31.4, an American code of practice, with their diameters designated in inches from six inches (nominally 150 mm) to 20 inches (nominally 508 mm). Pressure in the pipeline network is monitored on a 24 hour-a-day, 365 days-a-year basis at the control centre at Transnet Pipelines' Durban head office.

Transnet Pipelines' staff complement of some 600 is deployed across the pipeline network with the business itself being geographically decentralised. The regional offices in Bedfordview are in the north of Johannesburg, housing the main support functions including marketing, finance, human resources, technical, projects and information systems, with a second branch located in Pinetown.

Customers

Transnet Pipelines' customers are all South Africa's major fuel companies namely: BP, Caltex, Engen, Exel, Sasol Oil, Sasol Gas, Tepco, Shell and Total. Many of these organisations are empowerment companies, representing new players in the market.

Market Shares

• Transnet Pipelines' network transports 100% of South Africa's bulk petroleum products.
• The Natref inland refinery receives all of its crude oil requirements from Transnet Pipelines' pipelines.

Pipeline Integrity

Transnet Pipelines continually monitors the integrity of its pipeline network. Internal inspection tools, known as ‘Intelligent Pigs’, are valuable devices used for this work. They make use of the magnetic stray flux principle to determine and record possible areas of metal loss from corrosion or any other cause. The results of the most recent Intelligent Pig survey of the network indicate that the pipelines, which are methodically protected against electrolytic corrosion, are in a generally good condition.

Ongoing maintenance projects are monitored by a steering committee to ensure that the pipeline system and its peripherals are continuously improved upon.

Visit the Transnet Pipelines website