Minister Gwede Mantashe Wants to Renew Investment Interest in SA by Reviving Saudi-SA Oil Refinery Project

• Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe is looking to revive a shelved oil refinery project with oil titan Saudi Aramco
• This comes after the nation's biggest oil refinery, Sapref, was damaged during the devastating Durban floods in April this year
• Mantashe told the National Assembly that his department was working on rehabilitating the Sapref refinery

CAPE TOWN - Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe wants to revive Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco's interest in building a refinery in South Africa.

The Saudi-SA oil refinery project was first proposed in July 2018 during a state visit to Saudia Arabia by Cyril Ramaphosa. However, the project never came to fruition.

The energy minister revisited the project and put it back on the agenda when he accompanied the president to the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia in October. Following the trip, the government released a statement lauding the state visit paved the way for billions of dollars of investment to flow into South Africa.

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Mantashe's revived interest in the refinery project comes after the Sapref refinery was damaged during the Durban floods in KwaZulu Natal in April this year. While answering questions in the National Assembly on Wednesday, 16 November, Mantashe said his department is working on reviving the Durban refinery. The energy minister added that sealing the deal with Saudi Aramco will go a long way in reigniting South Africa's capacity to refine crude oil, News24 reported.

Though many environmental activists have intensified their calls for SA to move away from dependence on fossil fuels, The African National Congress has also been calling on the government to build its own refinery in light of escalating fuel prices, SABC News reported.

Gwede Mantashe says South Africa’s green future will result in unemployment, calls for slow energy transition

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In another story, Briefly News reported that Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has again endorsed fossil fuels, saying a speedy transition to renewable will increase unemployment and deepen energy poverty.

The Energy Minister made these comments during an address at the Africa Oil Week in Cape Town on Tuesday, 4 October. Civil Society groups have been protesting outside the conference, with many climate activists armed with banners that say "fossil fuels kill", but according to Mantashe, hunger kills faster.

Mantashe said the transition to clean energy must be systematic and include support from gas and other energy systems.

Source: Briefly News