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Employees in Limbo as SOE Fails to Launch

Dear Editor

The South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC) was set to launch yesterday, Tuesday 1 April 2025. This didn’t happen and there’s been no communication from the SANPC or it’s transitional holding company the Schedule 2 state owned CEF group.

The failure to go live or launch by the company has serious implications for the three merging SOEs namely PetroSA, iGAS and SFF.

More than 400 employees from these three SOEs were supposed to be transferred to SANPC with the conclusion and fulfilment of all corporate plans. The future of these three SOEs and their employees now remains unclear with the legal status of the SANPC in limbo.

The DA has been calling for the complete scrapping of this super SOE.

Nearly all SOEs have consistently failed or are under duress and a new super SOE like the SANPC is not the answer to energy security in South Africa.

This failure to launch should be a warning and a clear sign to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum resources (DMPR) that the pursuit of a national petroleum company with the history of SOEs in South Africa is ill advised.

The SANPC is supposed to be a self-sustaining business. This botched launch will affect the investor confidence in doing business with the SANPC.

That lack of confidence will extend to anybody wanting to launch an oil and gas project in South Africa as by law, they have to include the SANPC as a 20% participant. This will be yet another argument against investing in oil and gas in South Africa.

The DA believes improving energy security in South Africa does not need a super energy company. The ANC needs rather to create a policy and legislative environment that makes the country attractive for fossil fuel exploration and subsequent investment.

The investment climate needs to be consistent and predictable with guaranteed tenure over a realistic period.

The looming SANPC Bill should be rejected along with the national petroleum company.

The DA will continue to monitor the progress of the SANPC and advocate for its scrapping and the unbundling of PetroSA, iGAS and SFF into individual institutions. Their future should be decided on, taking into account participation by the private sector.

Regards

Sphesihle Zondi MP
DA Deputy Spokesperson on Mineral and Petroleum Resources

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