Botswana has abundant coal resources estimated at over 200 billion tonnes. Through the Coal Road Map Study conducted by Government in 2011, one of the options available to monetise Botswana coal was through exploitation of her vast coal reserves and conversion to some of the coal to petroleum products, among other project outputs.
The country imports most of its petroleum products from/through South Africa to satisfy its 1.2 billion litres per annum consumption. The Ikaegeng XTL (IXTL) project, if viable, will be a major step towards establishing energy security for Botswana and would significantly reduce Botswana’s reliance on imported petroleum products. The project will contribute towards the Government’s strategy to diversify the economy and create employment through the use of natural resources.
The project is a private sector-led initiative with Botswana Oil Limited’s (BOL’s) role limited to being faciliatory. Due to the project being strategic in its nature and requiring Government support, it is critical to provide oversight. BOL engaged Technical Advisory Services in the development of a framework within which the private sector has to operate in the realization of the project.
The IXTL will constitute a mega-project, characterised by large capital investments, technology complexity (involving integrated solids, gas and liquids processing), multiple stakeholder interfaces (Government and Regulatory, Business Development, Resource Development, Impacted Communities and NGO and Conservation Organisations) and extended timelines.
The IXTL is the Project Facilitation, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Procurement and Project Development of an Ikaegeng XTL Facility and an IXTL Business in Botswana. The IXTL Facility consists of an XTL Processing Plant and Related Infrastructure. The IXTL Business is the off-take from the IXTL Facility and the wholesale distribution, storage, blending and sales of XTL diesel and gasoline.
The PPP Procurement of the IXTL will be in accordance with the PPP Policy and Implementation Framework of Botswana. The project has completed a feasibility study in accordance with the PPP Policy and Implementation Framework.