Pretoria: President Cyril Ramaphosa has officially assented to the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill, a key piece of legislation aimed at accelerating petroleum exploration and development with participation by black South Africans, as part of the nation’s social and economic advancement.

According to South African Government News Agency, the Presidency said in a statement that the Bill ensures petroleum resources are developed responsibly, provides fair access, and promotes sustainable growth. It also allows for active involvement from government and black South Africans in building up the country’s petroleum sector. ‘The legislation acknowledges that South Africa’s petroleum resources belong to the nation and that the state is the custodian of these non-renewable natural resources which must contribute to South Africa’s social and economic development,’ The Presidency said.

As part of advancing industrialisation and manufacturing diversity, the law provides for local content as a development s
trategy to enable skills development, local recruitment and national participation through supply of goods and services. The Bill reaffirms the state’s commitment to regulatory certainty and to guaranteeing security of tenure in respect of petroleum rights. The Bill separates petroleum provisions from minerals provisions as currently provided for in the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act.

‘This separation is necessary from a policy and administrative perspective to ensure matters in the petroleum and minerals industries are addressed on the basis of their distinctive features, to bring about stability and security to investors, especially in the upstream petroleum sector,’ the Presidency said. The law sets out the functions of the South African Agency for Promotion of Petroleum Exploration and Exploitation, which include receiving and evaluating applications for reconnaissance permits, petroleum rights and retention permits, and making recommendations to the Minister of Mineral Resources and Ene
rgy. Reconnaissance refers to any operation carried out for or in connection with the search for petroleum by geological, geophysical and photo geological surveys.