New oil and gas discoveries propel South Africa’s energy renaissance.
South Africa has no plans to curb its oil and gas operations in favour of a green transition just yet, as the government announces big plans to boost oil and gas exploration activities in the coming years. This is part of its aim to improve its energy security and reduce the country’s reliance on foreign imports. As such, the government recently approved new drilling activities by France’s TotalEnergies, aiming to make significant new discoveries to support longer-term oil and gas production.
This month, the Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Nobuhle Nkabane, stated that South Africa will “sustainably continue to develop” its oil and gas resources, at the Southern African Oil Gas Conference. Nkabane explained, “It is imperative to accelerate the exploration of oil and gas both onshore and offshore, as having our own petroleum resources will reduce our dependency on foreign oil and cushion our economies, in particular our citizens against imposed whirlwinds of crude price volatility.”
