South Africa’s PetroSA has chosen Russia’s Gazprombank Africa as an investment partner for its mothballed gas-to-liquid (GTL) refinery in Mossel Bay, according to a statement from the government. This decision comes after South Africa agreed to a recommendation from PetroSA to select Gazprombank as its partner.

Gazprombank, Russia’s third-largest lender by assets, is a key player in the Russian energy trade. The 45,000 barrel-per-day Mossel Bay GTL plant has been under care and maintenance for several years due to dwindling offshore gas resources, making it unable to operate.

PetroSA has been seeking investors to revive its flagship plant, as South Africa faces concerns about the security of its fuel supply following the closure of its two largest refineries, Sapref and Enref, due to accidents and business decisions.

According to a statement from the cabinet, the selection of Gazprombank is still subject to a final investment decision, which will be based on a joint bankable business case and the finalization of all terms and conditions by April 2024.

The GTL plant is a crucial factor in negotiations between TotalEnergies and PetroSA to establish a gas supply agreement that could potentially connect a massive gas discovery by TotalEnergies to a PetroSA offshore platform. This platform was previously used to directly supply domestic gas to Mossel Bay, and utilizing this infrastructure could speed up the process of obtaining gas supplies from the TotalEnergies discovery.

However, talks between TotalEnergies and PetroSA have been stalled due to disagreements over the gas price, according to Reuters.