EIA: Country Analysis Brief: South Africa - October 2017 - eng (pdf)

South Africa's energy sector is critical to its economy, as the country relies heavily on its large-scale, energy-intensive coal mining industry. South Africa has limited proved reserves of oil and natural gas and uses its large coal deposits to meet most of its energy needs, particularly in the electricity sector. Most of the oil consumed in the country, used mainly in the transportation sector, is imported from Middle Eastern and West African producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and is locally refined. South Africa also has a sophisticated synthetic fuels industry, producing gasoline and diesel fuels from the Secunda coal-to-liquids (CTL) plant and the Mossel Bay gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant. The synthetic fuels industry accounts for nearly all of the country's domestically produced petroleum because crude oil production is very small.

South Africa’s economy has grown rapidly since the end of the apartheid era in 1994, and the country is now one of the most developed nations in Africa. South Africa has the second-largest economy in Africa, in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), and it has the highest energy consumption on the continent, accounting for about 28% of total primary energy consumption in Africa, according to BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2017.[1] Despite rapid economic growth over the past few decades, economic problems from the apartheid era remain, particularly poverty and the lack of economic participation among disadvantaged groups. The South African government has committed to ensuring that black-owned companies have access to energy and mining sector activities under its Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) program. In addition, the 2000 Petroleum and Liquid Fuels Charter sets a target to place 25% of the oil industry (across all facets) in the hands of black-controlled energy companies.

According to a 2015 study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), South Africa holds the eighth-largest technically recoverable shale gas resources in the world (390 trillion cubic feet) primarily located in the Karoo basin. The South African government hopes that shale gas will provide the country with a reliable alternative fuel to coal. However, regulatory uncertainty and environmental concerns have delayed exploration. Some progress was recently made when the Petroleum Agency South Africa (PASA) announced that it would start processing existing applications for exploration permits in late 2017.[2]

In 2016, 70% of South Africa's total primary energy consumption came from coal, followed by oil (22%), natural gas (4%), nuclear (3%), and renewables (less than 2%), according to BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2017 (Figure 2).[3] South Africa's dependence on coal has led the country to become the leading carbon dioxide emitter, on a volumetric basis, in Africa (accounting for 35% of emissions in Africa) and the 14th-largest emitter in the world, according to the latest BP Statistical Review estimates.[4]