South Africa Officially Launches National Oil Company

The South African National Petroleum Company – the newly-established state-owned oil corporation – was officially launched at a ceremony on Friday. The company seeks to unlock over R95 billion worth of untapped investment opportunities in the country, targeting enhanced fuel security.

Created following a merger of the state-owned iGas, PetroSA and Strategic Fuel Fund, the SANPC now operates as a fully-fledged subsidiary of the Central Energy Fund (CEF). Key priorities include increasing oil and gas exploration and production, reducing petroleum imports, improving refining capacity and developing a competitive domestic petroleum market in South Africa.

“We made the decision to take three state-owned entities, merge them and create an energy champion for the country. The issue for us is to focus on inclusive growth. This country can have between 5% and 8% annual growth if we use our oil and gas reserves. We have oil, we have gas, so we must exploit it,” stated Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, South Africa.

The SANPC launched operations in April 2025 following the finalization of agreements with both organized and non-unionized labor. At the time of signing, the first phase of the merger was complete, with 402 employees out of the total 1,022 moved to the new entity. The remaining 620 employees will be transferred in the second phase.

“SANPC is going to be an integrated oil and gas company. The first thing we will focus on is economic transformation. Security of supply is our key mandate. The second issue is shareholder returns. We need to make sure that we return money back to our government, give returns to the public and make sure we are sustainable as a company,” stated Mojalefa Godfrey Moagi, CEO, SANPC

Functioning under a lease-and-assignment model, the SANPC will lease select assets from the merging entities while isolating PetroSA’s legacy liabilities and operational challenges at the gas-to-liquids refinery. According to Ayanda Noah, Chairperson for Board of Directors, CEF, “We need to make sure that this company delivers. We need to make sure we improve our refining capacity.”

The establishment of the SANPC marks a new era of operational efficiency and profitability for the state-owned petroleum corporation. The company will strive to address challenges faced by the previous entities, including financing and asset management.

“SANPC should go out there and champion this country, brand South Africa and engage international investors. When they come here, be their partner. SANPC is ready for business. SANPC is going to champion South Africa,” stated NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber.