It is an honour and a pleasure to welcome you to South Africa for the Africa Energy Week (AEW), an important platform for dialogue, cooperation, and investment in shaping the future of Africa’s energy sector. We gather at a critical moment for our continent and the world. Geopolitical tensions and disruptions to global energy markets continue to place significant pressure on our economies and our people.
Speaking Notes by the Honourable, Deputy Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Ms Phumzile Mgcina
Africa Energy Week (AEW)
Cape Town ICC, 13 October 2026
Programme Director,
Your excellencies, Ministers and Deputy Ministers
Organisers of the Africa Energy Week,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Captains of Industry,
Distinguished Guests,
It is an honour and a pleasure to welcome you to South Africa for the Africa Energy Week (AEW), an important platform for dialogue, cooperation, and investment in shaping the future of Africa’s energy sector.
We gather at a critical moment for our continent and the world.
Geopolitical tensions and disruptions to global energy markets continue to place significant pressure on our economies and our people.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has once again demonstrated how developments in one region can have far-reaching consequences for countries and communities thousands of kilometres away.
These developments have contributed to rising fuel prices, rising cost of living, thus placing additional burden on millions of people, businesses, and governments.
Despite Africa’s abundant natural resources, including significant petroleum resources, we remain vulnerable to external shocks that threaten our energy security and economic stability.
These realities demand decisive leadership. They call on us, as African leaders, not only to strengthen the energy sectors of our individual countries, but also to work as a collective in building a more integrated, resilient, and self-reliant African energy system.
It is within this context that we welcome the theme of this year’s AEW: “Affordable and Abundant Energy Additions for Africa.”
This theme speaks directly to the urgency of our task. It calls for bold investment, practical partnerships, and decisive action to unlock our continent’s diverse energy resources and ensure that affordable and reliable energy becomes accessible to all Africans.
The current geopolitical environment has also underscored the strategic importance of Africa in global oil and gas markets.
Our continent possesses substantial petroleum resources. Estimates indicate that approximately 77 billion barrels of oil equivalent have been discovered across Africa since 2010.
This represents an enormous opportunity to strengthen energy security, stimulate industrial development and expand economic cooperation across our continent.
However, the possession of natural resources alone does not guarantee energy security. The real value of these resources lies in our ability to develop them responsibly, process them locally and use them to build productive and competitive economies.
For South Africa, access to diverse sources of crude oil and petroleum products has been important in managing the risks associated with disruptions to international supply routes, including those linked to the Strait of Hormuz.
Our ability to source petroleum products through diverse markets, including African petroleum producers, reinforces the importance of diversifying supply and strengthening intra-Africa trade.
Yet, while Africa has significant petroleum resources, our capacity to refine crude oil into products required by our economies remains inadequate.
This is one of the critical vulnerabilities we must confront.
In South Africa, our domestic petroleum refining capacity remains under pressure.
At present, domestic supply of refined petroleum products relies significantly on two operational crude oil refineries, Astron Energy and Natref, alongside Sasol’s coal-to-liquids facility.
Together, these facilities play an important role in supplying at least 40% of South Africa’s liquid fuel requirements.
60% of our refined petroleum products is imported.
This level of import dependence exposes our economy to international price volatility, supply disruptions, and geopolitical uncertainty. It also means opportunities for local industrial development, skills transfer, and job creation are being realised elsewhere.
Africa’s challenge is not access to petroleum resources; it is our capacity to convert those resources into reliable supplies of affordable petroleum products.
We cannot afford to overlook the strategic importance of refining and related energy infrastructure.
Investing in refining capacity is a strategic component of national energy security. It supports economic resilience, creates opportunities for local enterprises and strengthens our ability to respond to international market disruptions.
For this reason, South Africa continues to pursue opportunities to mobilise investment in the revival, modernisation, and expansion of domestic refining capacity.
We recognise the importance of African investment and African capital in this effort, alongside international partnerships that bring financing, technology, expertise and long-term commitment required to develop a competitive petroleum industry.
The South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC) has an important role to play in advancing our national petroleum ambitions and supporting the development of a stronger and more resilient petroleum sector.
We invite African and international partners, industry leaders, and development partners to work with us in pursuing those objectives.
Our ambition extends beyond securing supplies for South Africa alone. We are working towards contributing to an African energy system that is integrated, more reliable and better equipped to withstand external shocks.
When we invest in exploration, production, and refining, we invest not only in energy security, but also in industrialisation, employment, and the economic future of our people.
The fact remains that, no African country can achieve lasting energy security in isolation.
Our markets, infrastructure, resources, and economic ambitions are interconnected.
We must, therefore, strengthen regional cooperation, expand cross-border trade, and create an environment in which energy investments can deliver benefits beyond national borders.
This requires practical collaboration between governments, investors, and technical partners. It also requires us to recognise the strategic value of African capital, strengthening African financial institutions, and encouraging partnerships among African enterprises.
Our approach must, therefore, be one of partnerships that respect national development priorities, promote local participation, and deliver measurable benefits to all Africans.
Ultimately, our responsibility is to build an energy system that contributes meaningfully to the energy security of the African continent.
Your excellencies, there is another important issue that we must confront honestly: the debate about fossil fuels and the global energy transition.
Africa faces growing pressure to move away from fossil fuel development, even as many of our countries continue to struggle with energy poverty, limited industrial capacity, and inadequate infrastructure.
We must approach this debate with clarity and a firm commitment to Africa’s development.
Africa must reject the false choice between economic development and environmental responsibility.
The circumstances of our continent differ significantly from those of many developed economies, which industrialised over generations with access to abundant and affordable energy, including fossil fuels.
Millions of Africans still lack access to reliable electricity and modern energy services. many of our communities continue to face poverty, unemployment, and inequality.
Our economies require reliable and affordable energy to expand manufacturing, develop infrastructure, support agriculture, grow businesses, and improve living standards.
We cannot ignore these realities. Nor can we accept an approach that expects Africa to leave its natural resources undeveloped while its people continue to face energy poverty and limited economic opportunities.
We recognise the need to protect our environment and build more sustainable energy systems.
However, we must not be told to abandon development, not to disregard our environmental responsibilities.
Ours is to pursue a balanced, responsible, and development orientated energy pathway that recognises Africa’s circumstances and serves the long-term interests of its people.
I thank you.