South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy fully endorses African Energy Week in Cape Town

The African Energy Chamber (AEC) announces that South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has declared their full support of African Energy Week (AEW) 2021, scheduled to take place in Cape Town on the 9^th-12^th of November.

Led by Hon. Minister Gwede Mantashe, the DMRE has officially endorsed Africa’s premier energy event, partnering with AEW 2021 to promote the event, mobilize regional and international dignitaries, policy makers and investors, and position it as the continent’s leading energy conference in 2021 and beyond.

Under the leadership of Hon. Gwede Mantashe, the DMRE has made significant progress in driving exploration, accelerating power sector developments, and establishing the country as an attractive and enabling destination for investment. Officially endorsed by the Government of South Africa, AEW 2021 will provide an exclusive platform for the promotion of the DMRE’s policies, projects and prerogatives, showcasing the significant opportunities present in South Africa’s energy industry, and providing valuable insight into the country’s energy future.

South Africa has significant mineral resources spanning across the country’s nine provinces, and by partnering with the event, AEW 2021 will showcase them to global investors, driving associated development country wide. Notably, the country has significant coal, gold, diamond, and platinum group metal deposits, boasting the world’s largest gold resource in the Witwaterstrand Basin and an estimated 320 million tons of economically exploitable coal reserves. Additionally, following the offshore Brulpadda gas discovery made by Total in 2019, the discovery of gas condensate fields during 2019 and 2020 have garnered significant interest from investors. While studies are still being conducted to confirm the commercial viability of these discoveries, the country’s potential is estimated at 9 billion barrels of oil and roughly 60 trillion cubic feet of offshore gas.  

In the meantime, the country continues to rely on oil and gas imports from neighboring countries to sustain its economy. With an adequate natural gas supply from the Pande-Temane field in Mozambique, and pipeline infrastructure enabling the transportation to South Africa’s hungry market, both regional integration and efficient domestic refining capacity have supplied the market. However, with potential domestic reserves, the country is focusing on upstream exploration to provide a sustainable domestic market and supply and AEW 2021 will promote this.