Africa’s oil and gas resources could help speed up and guarantee the continent’s energy security by driving economic development through the processing and beneficiation of petroleum products, South Africa’s Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said Tuesday.
Addressing some 2,000 delegates at the ongoing Africa Oil Week conference in Cape Town, Mantashe said Africa should not continue to be a destination for imported refined oil products when the continent is endowed with its own crude oil resources.
The minister said while major oil companies were withdrawing from Africa’s downstream sector, there have been new oil discoveries on the continent – and South Africa was no exception.
“Discoveries of significant oil and gas in our neighbouring Southern African Development Community (SADC) member countries are encouraging,” Mantashe said.
A number of SADC countries such as Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and Tanzania have reported significant reserves of oil and gas.
“These discoveries will strengthen energy and support other by-products such as fertilisers to boost agricultural production. This means we must invest in beneficiation to boost manufacturing.”
The minister noted that it was time “for Africa’s oil and gas to earn her income through exports into Europe.”
Mantashe warned that imported refined products exposed Africa’s economies to external shocks due to unreliable supplies.
“They adversely force us to invest in import infrastructure, not domestic processing. South Africa has set an ambitious programme to attract local and international investment in oil and gas exploration and production,” he said.
The event is an annual conference that brings together petroleum industry captains, government leaders, academia and non-governmental organisations to deliberate on various issues in the oil and gas sector.
The weeklong Africa Oil Week conference is themed “Sustainable Growth in a Low-Carbon Market” and is expected to end on Friday.
NM/jn/APA