Energy industry group backs oil and gas exploration as South Africa seeks supply security

South Africa's energy industry is making a forceful case for oil and gas exploration, arguing that the country's growing population and fragile power systems leave no room to dismiss fossil fuels from the energy mix. Ross Compton, senior director for global policy at the EnerGeo Alliance, contends that recent high-profile court decisions have actually strengthened the case for drilling, not weakened it. The rulings, he says, have clarified what regulators and companies must do to move projects forward—and two separate judgments suggest the path is now clearer than before.

The Western Cape High Court last month rejected a bid by environmental and fishing groups to block an offshore seismic survey in the Orange Basin off the West Coast. That same month, the Constitutional Court halted offshore gas and exploration rights along the Wild Coast for Shell and Impact Africa. To an outside observer, these might look like setbacks for the industry. Compton reads them differently. The Western Cape ruling, he notes, found that the applicants' case lacked merit and gave the green light for the company to proceed. The Constitutional Court decision, while stopping those particular projects, did not ban seismic surveys or oil and gas development altogether. Both cases, in his view, simply underscored the importance of proper consultation and environmental assessment—processes the industry says it is now equipped to handle.

The urgency behind this push is real. South Africa's population sits between 59 and 60 million people and continues to grow and urbanize, placing mounting pressure on centralized power systems. The country faces what Compton calls a "gas cliff"—a looming shortage of natural gas—and has limited capacity to refine petroleum products. Globally, wars in the Gulf, Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure, and weather-related damage to American refineries are squeezing oil and gas supplies. Domestically, while load-shedding has eased, the underlying vulnerabilities remain. Compton argues that natural gas fits squarely within the country's integrated resource plan and is essential to meeting future demand.

The government appears aligned with this view. Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe said in a parliamentary reply in June that unlocking South Africa's oil and gas potential is "one of the best ways of insulating the country against oil shocks." The industry is now waiting for the government to finalize regulations under the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Act, which Compton says would provide the certainty needed to move forward.

But opposition is mounting. Green Connection, an environmental advocacy group, argues that the proposed petroleum legislation and a pending Gas Bill are misaligned with South Africa's Climate Change Act and could saddle taxpayers with significant environmental liabilities. The group's advocacy lead, Lisa Makaula, is calling for stronger protections around public participation and environmental safeguards, as well as guarantees of fair compensation for communities affected by gas infrastructure. She emphasizes that meaningful consultation with affected communities must be a legal requirement, not an afterthought.

The tension reflects a deeper fault line in South Africa's energy future. The industry frames oil and gas as a necessary bridge fuel and a hedge against global supply shocks. Environmental groups frame the same projects as a threat to climate commitments and a risk to communities and ecosystems. The court rulings have clarified the legal processes both sides must navigate, but they have not resolved the fundamental disagreement about whether South Africa should be drilling at all. What comes next depends on whether the government finalizes those regulations—and whether the regulations themselves can satisfy both the industry's need for certainty and the public's demand for genuine protection.