Opportunity Issue 98

INTERVIEW
Is there international interest in South Africa’s oil and
gas resources?
The exploration map on our website shows that international
companies such as Total, Shell, ENI, Kosmos, Africa Energy
Corporation, Azinam, Impact Oil and Gas, CNR, Qatar
Petroleum, New Age and others all hold interests in
exploration acreage. In addition, we have agreements in place
with international service providers to acquire seismic data.
towards a lower-carbon economy for South Africa
especially since gas-to-power technologies are flexible
and would therefore complement the intermittent
renewable energy being added to the national grid.
What is PASA doing to attract investment and
promote new drilling projects?
PASA continues with its programme of promoting
investment opportunities at local and international oil
and gas conferences and exhibitions. South Africa has
a history of political stability. The new administration
is widely regarded as business-friendly and the
new UPRD bill will assist the Agency in expediting
exploration through close management of acreage
allocation and work programmes. The bill also
empowers the Agency to commission multi-client or
speculative surveys, enabling the acquisition of data
to attract investment. South Africa currently offers
an attractive fiscal framework. These positive factors
create a conducive environment for the Agency to
pursue its mandate of attracting investment into the
upstream petroleum industry.
Does PASA have a strategy to retain existing
investors?
All investors want to see a return on their investment
and a reward for taking on risk. PASA’s approach is
to facilitate their activities and guide them through
compliance and regulatory requirements to achieve the
best outcome for both government and the investing
companies. Advocacy plays an important role and PASA
is concentrating on communicating the role that the
upstream industry can play in reconstruction and
development. A recent example was the facilitation
of logistics for the drilling of the Luiperd well during
Covid-19 lockdown.
What are the implications of the passing of the Upstream
Petroleum Resources Development Bill (UPRD) by the
South African parliament?
Oil and gas exploration and production is currently
regulated under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources
Development Act, 2002 (MPRDA). The UPRD will repeal
and replace the relevant sections pertaining to upstream
petroleum activities in the MPRDA.
The draft bill therefore provides greater policy certainty
and a stable environment for investment in the South
African oil and gas sector. The bill provides security
of tenure by combining the rights for the exploration,
development and production phase under one permit.
What changes are envisaged in the amendment to
the National Environmental Management Act of 1998
(NEMA)?
The National Environmental Management Laws Amendment
Bill, which was revived in June 2020, proposes various
amendments to the National Environmental Management
Act, 1998. Proposals that may positively impact upstream
petroleum operations include the provisions
empowering the minister responsible for
mineral resources to delegate to any
organ of state and designate as an
environmental petroleum inspector
any staff member of any other organ
of state that executes a regulatory
function. The minister may delegate
certain competent authority functions
to the Petroleum Agency SA, which
may improve the turnaround timelines
for making decisions on EA applications.
Furthermore, designating staff members
of the Agency as environmental petroleum
inspectors means that all compliance monitoring
and enforcement functions prescribed in the act
as far as upstream petroleum operations would
be efficiently executed.
Dr Phindile Masangane,
CEO of Petroleum
Agency SA