During her keynote address at this year’s Southern Africa Oil and Gas Conference, Deputy Minister in the Presidency Pinky Kekana called on all sectors of South Africa to work together to realise the potential of South Africa’s oil and gas sector.

“South Africa wake up. We have seen the abundance that oil and gas has brought to Mossel Bay [in the Western Cape]. We have new discoveries,” she said.

Kekana also noted that the development of oil and gas resources in South Africa needed the active participation of various stakeholders, including the private sector, institutions of higher learning, technical vocational education and training colleges, and local municipalities.

“We must work together to ensure that development benefits the communities where it takes place. Let’s build better,” she said.

Achieving this, Kekana stated, would require a coordinated approach among government departments and consistent regulations and policies that do not impede unnecessarily.

“From the perspective of planning, monitoring and evaluation, our government's role is to create an enabling environment for investors. We should explore ways to attract investors to manufacture locally, create jobs and collaborate with educational institutions to address skills gaps and promote reskilling and upskilling.”

This year’s Southern Africa Oil and Gas Conference – held on September 13 and 14 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre – shed light on the critical role of natural gas in South Africa’s energy future and tackled discussions on onshore exploration and production, policy considerations, upstream technologies, strategies for achieving net-zero emissions, and the impact of the just energy transition (JET) on the oil and gas value chain in the Southern African Development Community region.

Meanwhile, Department of Mineral Resources and Energy planning chief director Thabang Audat presented the Gas Master Plan at the event, which serves as a strategic roadmap for South Africa's energy future.

This plan is set to guide policy decisions and advocate for an energy mix that includes natural gas as a pivotal component.

“Renewables are not enough for South Africa to meet its energy demand. Oil and gas are integral to a JET in South Africa and an important step on a proposed road to decarbonisation,” he said.

Various other speakers during the conference also stressed the urgency for South Africa of prioritising the exploration and production of upstream oil and gas.

While global use of gas as a primary energy source amounts to about 24%, the fuel’s use in South Africa amounts to less than 3%.

Gas use has the potential to stimulate economic growth, job creation, infrastructure rejuvenation and lower business costs, as noted during the conference.

“There are many lessons from the last two days [of the conference] that we, as the upstream oil and gas sector, can take away from this conference, including the need to streamline policies and regulations and remove obstacles to development,” said Petroleum Agency of South Africa acting CEO Dr Tshepo Mokoka.

He stated that the South African upstream oil and gas sector’s goal should be to create an enabling environment to attract investors for local manufacturing, job creation and skills development.

“We must prioritise inclusive development by collaborating with stakeholders, including the private sector, educational institutions and local municipalities to ensure that oil and gas development becomes a force for positive change in the communities where it takes place,” said Mokoka.