PETROSA plans to invest R80 million in the construction of a 200 000 litres an hour desalination plant.
The construction of the plant would alleviate the impact of drought in Mossel Bay and the southern Cape, the state-owned petroleum company said yesterday.
"The plant will provide 5 megalitres of water per day, and should address PetroSA's water requirements for operating its gas-to-liquid (GTL) refinery in Mossel Bay," PetroSA said in a statement.
It would join forces with the Mossel Bay Municipality in an attempt to desalinate sea water for use by both the company and the town.
"It is envisaged that the desalination plant should be operational by November 2010," it said.
The Mossel Bay municipality said the town was facing its worst drought in 130 years.
"The drought has reached such critical proportions that the Eden District area of the southern Cape has been declared a disaster area," it said.
The water level in the Wolwedans Dam, which PetroSA uses to operate the GTL refinery, is at 12.5 percent and it is projected that it will run dry by October.
PetroSA said it had introduced several measures in the past couple of months to save water and manage water usage in Mossel Bay.
These included recycling 60 000 litres an hour of storm water at a cost of R8m and recycling 170 000 litres an hour of treated effluent.
The state-owned enterprise had also made a R22.5m investment in an effluent water purification project run by the Mossel Bay municipality.
"These improvements are significant for the 600 000 litres an hour water requirement of the GTL refinery and should mitigate the water supply risk to the refinery," PetroSA added.
The oil company said it had also encouraged its employees to participate in the water saving campaign by reporting any potable water and firewater leaks for immediate repair.
The desalination plant would be constructed at PetroSA's logistics base, close to the Mossel Bay harbour.
The logistics base lay-down area was large enough to accommodate the desalination plant and already had power supply, PetroSA said.
The area was also in close proximity to the GTL refinery water supply line and had suitable sea conditions for water extraction.