South Africa’s Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe on Thursday reiterated that the country was committed to developing its oil and gas sector, despite external pressures to transition to a greener economy.

Speaking at African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2024, in Cape Town, Mantashe noted that with President Cyril Ramaphosa assenting to the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill, which seeks to accelerate petroleum exploration and development and includes provisions to address unconventional gases like shale gas, South Africa was well on its way to become a competitor in the international oil and gas space.

“While we are getting pinned down not to take these steps, we needed to [explore oil and gas], lift the moratorium on shale gas, as we are still a developing economy. Whether we lifted the moratorium or not, critics would always be there. Gas is described as a transitional technology . . . and is part of the green transition,” he stated.

Earlier this year, Mantashe invited written comments on his intention to investigate the Karoo Basin through large-scale land seismic and airborne surveys to explore for oil and gas that may lie below the ground. The surveys aim to assess geological risks and examine whether there are enough resources to justify extraction.

“[These projects] will improve our gross domestic product by 8%,” he said, noting that across the border in Namibia and Mozambique there have already been significant economic turnarounds with the discovery and development of oil and gas.

Meanwhile, Mantashe emphasized the need to balance economic development with climate change initiatives. “Development and environmental stewardship must coexist . . . and we must responsibly manage natural resources. Mine responsibly, drill responsibly, protect the climate, indigenous plants and land, but don’t stop developing. If you stop that, you will have consequences further down the line,” he noted.

Mantashe further noted that he did not expect to see South Africa move away from coal-fired power stations by 2030. “Not in my lifetime,” he said, adding that the country can transition into new technologies, but it should “never dismantle old technologies. I am a great believer of mixed technologies [and with coal we have] a very strong base load technology.”