Media Statement: Committees Seek Energy Security and Transformation in the Petroleum Industry

Parliament, Tuesday, 28 October 2025 - The Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition, and the Portfolio Committee on Transport have engaged black traders on concerns raised about the Minister of Transport's directive to renew leases at the Transnet Island View Precinct (IVP).The meeting today was a follow-up from the meeting the committees had on 14 October 2025, where they were briefed by the Minister of Transport, Ms Barbara Creecy, on the Section 79 directive she issued, instructing the Transnet National Ports Authority to conclude new 25-year Terminal Operator Agreements at the Transnet IVP, located in the Port of Durban, by 31 March 2026.The IVP is a critical hub for South Africa's fuel imports and storage, supplying the majority of South Africa's fuel requirements. The committees met black-owned companies that are operating in the petroleum industry, the Minister of Minerals and Petroleum Resources, Mr Gwede Mantashe, the Central Energy Fund (CEF) and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Transport, Mr Donald Selamolela, said he appreciated that stakeholders used Parliament to express their problems and to seek solutions on them. He said: "Parliament is here to represent the people of South Africa."The companies presented several challenges they faced in importing liquid fuel products into South Africa, as currently, their competitors, the larger foreign-owned oil companies (oil majors), are in control of access to port terminals and storage facilities. Whereas, in other jurisdictions, the state or an independent local operator provides this infrastructure to industry players.The companies alleged that oil majors are using their control over the infrastructure to hinder black traders with the technical and financial capacity from berthing imported liquid fuel products under competitive conditions.While Minister Creecy has previously touted that the section 79 directive is meant to secure energy supply and facilitate transformation through the involvement of the CEF, black traders argued that the limited access provided to the CEF would not have the expected trickle-down effect. They claimed that once the CEF has secured imports for the SAPREF Refinery, it would have limited capacity to support black traders in a manner that would promote economies of scale therefore, a higher share of the storage infrastructure should be earmarked for energy security and transformative purposes.Furthermore certain stakeholders were concerned that the Section 79 process followed by the Minister of Transport was procedurally defective, as it lacked effective consultation with relevant public and private stakeholders, therefore, undermining its legality and legitimacy.NERSA is responsible for regulating electricity, piped-gas and petroleum pipelines industries in South Africa. In terms of petroleum, it issues licences and approves tariffs for loading and storage facilities, and it plays a monitoring role to ensure that these facilities are provided in a non-discriminatory, fair and transparent manner. NERSA indicated that it had not been formally consulted during the Section 79 application process but would scrutinise the directive to ensure alignment with the Petroleum Products Act.While the perception was created that CEF would act as the main aggregator for black traders in the industry, Mr Mantashe emphasised that, given CEF's initial 15% share, which can grow to 30% in future, real transformation opportunities lie in third party allocation within the 85% storage capacity operated by the oil majors.Fuel and Petroleum Security is imperative for South Africa and the continued reliance on a few oil majors puts the country at risk, which is unacceptable. Having listened to stakeholders in the petroleum industry, it is the committees' firm belief that energy security and domestic refining capacity are essential to protect South Africa's sovereignty and national security.The Department of Defence, through the South African National Defence Force, has been given a mandate to restore the country's strategic reserves and to prepare it for any eventuality. For them to effectively execute on this mandate, access to IVT is a necessity and therefore it is imperative for the Department of Defence to be given access to storage facilities in IVP for national, defence and emergency stockholding.The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Mzwandile Masina, said: "As a country, we are at a key juncture to change the trajectory of transformation in the petroleum industry. Failure to embed meaningful transformation and the inclusion of black traders with the requisite technical and financial capacity in the IVP leases will perpetuate the historical inequalities over the next 25 years."The committees will continue their engagements on transformation in the IVP in late November, where they will call the oil majors to engage them on their transformation commitments.ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TRADE, INDUSTRY AND COMPETITION, MR MZWANDILE MASINA, AND THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, MR DONALD SELAMOLELA.For media enquiries, please contact the committee's Media Officer:Name: Mr Mava LukaniParliamentary Communication ServicesCell: 081 503 [email protected]