REMARKS BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES
MR GWEDE MANTASHE (MP) AOW: Investing in African Energy Conference
Cape Town ICC, 08 October 2024

Master of Ceremonies, Ms Lebo Lion
Your Excellencies, Ministers present here
Deputy Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Mrs Judith
Nemadzinga-Tshabalala
Captains of Industries
Members of the Investment Community
Distinguished Guests
It is an honour and privilege that I welcome you to South Africa and to
the 30th edition of the AOW: Investing in African Energy Conference.
Despite the sustained geopolitical tensions that remain a serious threat to
global energy security, we gather here at a time when energy markets
have improved leading to the decrease of basic fuel prices for the fifth
consecutive month, thereby cushioning consumers against the rising
cost of living.
To make life more affordable for all South Africans, we have already begun
with discussions about reducing administered prices, including the
price of fuel and electricity. Included in the discussions of fuel prices, are
discussions on, but not limited to, the general fuel and the Road
Accident Fund (RAF) levies. We intend to conclude these discussions
in the shortest possible time for the country to realise the three priorities
of the government of national unity, namely:
• To drive inclusive economic growth and job creation
• To reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living
• To build a capable, ethical, and developmental state

Notwithstanding the contending political ideologies in the government,
we are clear that energy is a flywheel that will propel South Africa to
realise these priorities. As we continue to pursue security of energy
supply and address energy poverty, a diversified energy mix remains
a requisite for our nation to meet its growing energy demands.
During the 6th administration, we sought to put an end to the polemic
debate about energy sources and implored the energy industry,
including organisers of the AOW and other energy conferences to deal
with energy matters in a coordinated approach in one conference to
enable delegates to talk about the energy sector comprehensively.
Whereas the AOW is rebranding to capture discussions on a broad
spectrum of energy sources, there still remains a challenge of numerous
energy conferences across the board that sustain the polemic debate
about energy sources.
Although the consumption of crude oil broke through the 100 million
barrels per day level in 2023, as quantified in the 73rd edition of the
Energy Institute’s statistical review of the world energy, our
experience over the past five years has proven to us that the petroleum
sector has been running a second fiddle to other sources of energy, in
particular the renewable energies.
In contrast to the sustained crusade on oil and gas development, the
reconfiguration of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy
(DMRE) into two Departments allows us time and space to give a focused
attention to the entire petroleum value.
As part of government concerted efforts to provide for the orderly
development of the country’s petroleum resources, ensure equitable
access, and promote the participation of the historically disadvantaged

persons in the sector, the department developed the Upstream
Petroleum Resources Development Bill which has since been adopted
by both houses of Parliament and is ready for assent into law by the
President. This is the first of its kind in the South African history as the
Upstream Petroleum Industry has always been regulated as an
appendage to other industries. We are convinced that once the bill is
enacted into law, it will not only pave the way for an orderly development
of the Upstream Petroleum Industry but will boost the country’s
economic growth to 8% as is the case with Namibia which increased its
potential to double its economy by 2040 on the back of its recent
discoveries of oil and associate gas.
To ensure that South African’s enjoy maximum benefits from their national
patrimony, their petroleum resources, we have established the South
African National Petroleum Company (SANPC), as a state-owned
entity to carry the state share in petroleum projects and exploit some
resources in its own right. The South African National Petroleum
Company (SANPC) Bill is undergoing cabinet processes ahead of its
onward transmission to parliament for consideration and adoption. The
enactment of the bill into law will enable the SANPC to operate as South
Africa’s leading player in the petroleum industry, thereby ensuring energy
security, foster partnerships, and propel economic growth on the back of
petroleum resources.
Additionally, the Petroleum Products Amendment Bill (PPAB) is also
undergoing cabinet processes for approval to publish for stakeholder
comments. The bill seeks to; firstly, promote the transformation of the
petroleum and liquid fuels sector by encouraging participation and equity,
secondly, ensure that the persons involved in the manufacturing or sale of

liquid fuels are regulated, and lastly, to ensure that the petroleum sector
contributes to the country's economic development.
Notwithstanding the crusade against oil and gas development in South
Africa, it is encouraging that over the last 10 years, the African
continent has seen considerable interest in oil and gas blocks with
major petroleum players making valuable investments in offshore basins
through acquisition of new data.
In March this year, ENI’s exploration well Murene-1X in block CI-205 in
Côte d'Ivoire discovered oil, gas and condensate, while Mozambique
tripled its income from Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) sales in 2023 to
reach USD 1.7 billion, and Uganda is set to issue new oil and gas
exploration licenses in the 2025/26 fiscal year.
In the past two years, TotalEnergies, Shell, and Galp have made eight
discoveries across three blocks in Namibia’s Orange Basin,
representing an estimated 3.5 billion barrels of potentially recoverable oil.
These discoveries have led to a huge interest by major petroleum
companies since it is believed that the Namibian discoveries may be
extending southwards into South Africa.
The discoveries of gas and condensate from two exploration wells
drilled in Block 11B/12B offshore in the South Outeniqua Basin have
also proven that South Africa`s under-explored deep waters have
significant potential for oil and gas, and thereby signalling a need to
accelerate exploration efforts.
Although TotalEnergies has announced their exit on the block, there
remains a good potential for other oil and gas players to partner with
the remaining operator – MainStreet - and develop the block. Contrary
to the view that suggests that TotalEnergies withdrawal from the block is

tantamount to lack of confidence, it is encouraging that the company is a
major shareholder in 3 blocks North of South Africa’s Orange Basin in the
deep to ultra-deep waters, and a 100% shareholder of another larger
block that is 3 times the size of the 11b/12b in Southern Outeniqua.
Additionally, several exploration projects in the South African Orange
Basin are now gearing up for development, including:
• Preparation work for drilling exploration of the Deep-Water Orange
Basis (DWOB) block operated by TotalEnergies
• Proposed drilling of an exploration well, with the option to drill up to
4 additional wells in Block 3B/4B
• The Northern Cape Ultra-Deep-Water Block has started with
environmental authorisation processes for drilling
• The notable progress made on Block 5/6/7 with a potential to start
drilling exploration in the block in 2026 targeting large oil and gas
resources
Apart from drilling, major seismic exploration projects offshore are
planned between 2025 and 2026, including multi-client surveys by CGG
South Africa, TGS, and Searcher.
The main hindrance or risk to these projects being realised in South
Africa, remains the unabated and frivolous litigation against the
exploration and production of oil and gas by foreign-funded lobby
groups and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). This has already
affected two major seismic surveys to date, including Shell which
abandoned their survey and went on to discover oil and gas in Namibia,
as well as ENI which after being taken to court 47 times, left and went to
discover oil in huge quantities in Côte d'Ivoire.

The successful 3D seismic data acquisition in April this year by Searcher
on South Africa’s west coast has proven that exploration of petroleum
resources can be done successfully without any harm to the environment.
Notwithstanding these challenges, there has also been a growth in the
interest on onshore blocks most targeted for shallow unconventional
coalbed methane plays and biogenic gas plays. Additionally, South Africa
also has an exciting potential for shale gas plays hosted by the Karoo
Basin with up to 209 Trillion Cubic Feet (tcf) of gas estimated for
development. There are potential opportunities for long-term cheaper
indigenous gas supply from the Karoo Basin that could contribute to
South Africa’s growing energy needs and its economy.
As part of the government’s concerted efforts to establish an
environmental baseline in the Karoo Basin that will assist in developing
effective legislation to regulate the development of shale gas in the region,
in August this year, we gazetted our intention to conduct a geophysical
investigation across the region in relation to Petroleum Resources. The
acquisition of more geophysical data will enable the Department to make
informed decisions regarding the issuing of exploration rights in the area.
To ensure that South Africa has an adequate supply of liquid fuels, the
government has through the CEF concluded a transaction on the sale of
assets at the SAPREF Precinct. This acquisition has since been
approved by the Competition Commission, thus reinforcing our efforts that
seek to guarantee sufficient supply of petroleum products in the period
where a several refineries have been shut down prematurely. Like
Chevron and Petronas, Shell’s decision to divest from its downstream
business operations in South Africa provides an opportunity for another
investor, or major oil company, to take over the assets as the downstream

sector will remain attractive for the foreseeable future, given the rise of
hybrid vehicles.
In closing, we appeal to the delegates at this conference and the
investment community to continue investing the development of oil
and gas to enable a prosperous energy outlook for Africa and promote
sustainable development.
I thank you.