South Africa could achieve economic growth of up to eight percent if the petroleum sector is developed independently, the Minister of Minerals and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe said at the Africa Oil Week in Cape Town on Tuesday.
"Energy is the flywheel that will propel South Africa to realize its priorities as we continue to pursue security of energy supply and address energy poverty. Diversified energy mix remains a requisite for our nation to meet the growing energy demands," he noted.
The development of oil resources would increase the annual GDP growth rate to 5% and possibly 8%. Preliminary calculations show that the huge oil deposits recently discovered off the coast of Namibia extend south into South Africa's economic zone, he said, calling for an acceleration of the search for oil offshore and in the Atlantic Ocean.
"The department developed an upstream petroleum resource development bill which has since been adopted by both houses of parliament in South Africa and is ready for being signed into law by the president and that act is so important to us because petroleum resource development bill is establishing petroleum as an independent sector of the economy, it's not an appendage of mining," the minister added.
Oil and gas are crucial for the development of the country's economy, which is now heavily dependent on coal, Mantashe stated.
In late September, President Ramaphosa announced the formation of the South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC) through the merger of a number of existing national energy structures and assets. SANPC aims to boost the development of the country's oil and energy sector, according to the president.