South Africa: SA's Petroleum Regulator Cannot Be Both Promoter and Referee

opinion

By Noxolo Mfocwa

The Petroleum Agency of South Africa's dual role as promoter and licensor of oil and gas entrenches a conflict of interest that sidelines communities, undermines constitutional rights and deepens the climate crisis.

South Africa's public institutions are meant to serve the public interest, protect constitutional rights and act as guardians of the common good. Yet in the country's approach to oil and gas, one institution stands out for embodying a profound contradiction: the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (Pasa).

Pasa occupies a dual role that would raise alarm bells in any democratic system. It is tasked with promoting and facilitating oil and gas exploration and production, while simultaneously acting as a gatekeeper for licences and permits.

In effect, the same entity that markets South Africa as "open for exploration" also evaluates whether companies should be allowed to drill, conduct seismic surveys or extract hydrocarbons. This arrangement is now further entrenched by the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Act 23 of 2024 (UPRDA), which formalises Pasa as the primary regulatory authority while maintaining its promotional mandate.

This is not a technical quirk of governance. It is a structural conflict of interest with far-reaching consequences for communities, ecosystems and SA's climate commitments.

In practice, Pasa functions less like an independent regulator and more like an investment promotion agency for the fossil fuel industry. Its 2025/2026 strategic positioning continues to emphasise "accelerated exploration" and...

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