THE INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE LEGAL GUIDE TO OIL & GAS REGULATION 2016 EDITION

A brief outline of your jurisdiction’s natural gas sector, including a general description of: natural gas reserves; natural gas production including the extent to which production is associated or non-associated natural gas; import and export of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction and export facilities, and/or receiving and re-gasification facilities (“LNG facilities”); natural gas pipeline transportation and distribution/transmission network; natural gas storage; and commodity sales and trading.

South Africa is predominantly dependent on coal as its leading energy commodity. South Africa’s oil and gas resources are relatively undeveloped. South Africa is thus a small but growing competitor in the oil and natural gas industry. It currently has proven oil reserves of only 15 million barrels. Exploration activities in South Africa have led to the discovery of oil and gas fields and to the commercial production of oil and gas in the Bredasdorp Basin. In the Pletmos Basin, two gas fields and a further six gas discoveries are undeveloped. One oil and several gas discoveries have been made off the West Coast of South Africa in the Orange Basin.

One of these discoveries currently being appraised and developed by the joint venture in which Forest Exploration International, Anschutz Overseas South Africa and The Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (“PetroSA”) are participants, is the Ibhubesi Gas Field.

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