PetroSA’s Gazprom Deal to be Probed in Parliament

Dear Editor

There is enough evidence to show that PetroSA’s Gazprom deal poses more questions that answers.

Leaked documents from PetroSA reveal more of the ham-handedness and sinister mis-governance that has characterised the ANC’s handling of South Africa’s oil and gas resources.

A report by Amabungane investigative reporters details how internal auditors at PetroSA blew the whistle on the dodgy deal to award a request for proposal to the Russian state-owned bank Gazprom.

In a deal said to be worth R3.7 billion, the Russian company would oversee the refurbishing of the old Mossgas gas-to liquid fuel plant near Mossel Bay.

A number of questions must be asked as a result of the Amabungane story:

• It remains unclear whether a series of questionable decisions surrounding the oil and gas resources off the Southern Cape coast were taken by PetroSA, by Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe or by the full ANC pre-election cabinet. Some of these decisions have been beyond foolish and whoever took them needs to be held accountable;
• We need to know why multi-billion Rand contracts were awarded to Gazprom Bank and the laughably unfit Equator Holdings, which was liquidated for not paying the salary of a single employee;
• We need to know whether the deal with Gazprom Bank is still on the cards or whether it has been scrapped; and
• For the gas to liquid fuel plant to work, it needs a supply of gas, and the ANC has already botched a deal that saw Total pulling out its key financial and technical resources. We need to know what the ANC is going to do to help a substitute deal happen.

This resource is of potentially huge benefit to South Africa, particularly while so many of our people are starved of employment opportunities and while government resources dry up. It is incumbent on Minister Mantashe to develop these resources for the benefit of the country.

If he can’t put right what has gone wrong on his watch then he should give way to somebody who can do the job.

The DA will pose a series of questions in parliament to try and get answers to all these and other questions.

Regards

James Lorimer MP
DA Spokesperson on Mineral and Petroleum Resources