South Africa's gas sector strategy remains unclear as gas cliff looms

SOUTH Africa has just nine months to address critical infrastructure, policy, and pricing developments to avert a looming gas cliff, according to discussions between government energy departments, intensive industrial users, and Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy.

- BANELE GININDZA

Industry stakeholders said the country must finalise a fiscal framework, develop a gas-aggregation platform, and conclude transactions to facilitate investment decisions for LNG importation infrastructure by 2030.

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Gwede Mantashe noted that the debate surrounding the gas cliff remains fragmented and lacks a cohesive strategy. He pointed to ongoing impediments to the gas sector's development, which have led to a reliance on imported gas rather than utilising South Africa's own resources.

"The court has directed the Central Energy Fund (CEF) to issue regulations to lift the moratorium on shale gas exploration in the Karoo, but progress has been slow. We have not succeeded in balancing economics and ecology, which is why we depend on imported gas instead of our own," Mantashe said.