SA Business Integrator - Volume 7 l Issue 1 - April 2021

Page 41

INTERVIEW: PETROLEUM AGENCY SA

Focus is on supporting exploration activities to accelerate discoveries SA Business Integrator spoke to Dr Phindile Masangane, Chief Executive Officer of Petroleum Agency SA, about the agency’s mandate and development plans. Petroleum Agency SA promotes exploration for onshore and offshore oil and gas resources and their optimal development on behalf of government. Please give us some more details about the agency’s mandate. PASA has three main functions: The first is to attract

special projects, as directed by government. From the above, it is clear that the Agency is the regulator for South Africa’s oil and gas upstream industry. However, the Agency by no means sees its role as only reactive. On the contrary, it is one that is proactive, and the Agency’s purpose is to facilitate

investment to South Africa’s oil and gas upstream

and regulate oil and gas exploration to achieve

industry, in other words, investment into exploration and

production of indigenous oil and gas. This will

production of oil and gas in South Africa. We have a

ensure energy security and bolster economic growth

team of geologists and geophysicists who interpret data

and play a strong role in addressing the eradication

gathered through past exploration activity to determine

of poverty on South Africa.

the viability of prospecting and use this to attract exploration companies to South Africa. The second function is to regulate the upstream

What are the Agency’s focus and development plans for 2021?

industry in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum

South Africa’s upstream oil and gas industry is still

Resources Development Act, its regulations and other

at its infancy in spite of the country having excellent

applicable legislation. The Agency has staff responsible

petroleum resource prospectivity. In 2021, we want

for ensuring legal, technical and environmental

to focus on supporting our operators to accelerate

compliance as organisations enter into contracts with

their exploration activities so that we can have

the state to explore for oil and gas.

more discoveries. We will also be supporting Total

The third function is to act as the national archive

and its JV partners to efficiently move to the next

for all data and information produced during oil and

stage of their programme following the discoveries

gas exploration and production in South Africa, and to

in Brulpadda and Luiperd. It is of paramount

curate and maintain this data for use and distribution.

importance to the Agency that we move to the

Other functions include advising government on any issues pertinent to oil and gas as well as carrying out any

next era in terms of upstream oil and gas industry development.

sabusinessintegratrator.co.za

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SA Business Integrator - Volume 7 l Issue 1 - April 2021 by Media Xpose - Issuu