The South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC) believes that the country has to develop its hydrocarbon resources, while not destroying the environment. So averred SANPC CEO Godfrey Moagi, addressing the Africa Energy Week 2025 conference, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, on Tuesday.

“We believe that gas is going to be the next big thing,” he affirmed. He believes that the country can develop its hydrocarbon resources and decarbonise at the same time.

“We are dealing with a very interesting time,” he noted, referring both to international political tensions and climate change. “We have to focus a lot on sustainability. South Africa and Africa are energy hungry. We have big opportunities coming our way and we should invest in that.”

But key to developing these opportunities will be partnerships.

“We are aware that oil and gas projects take a long time. We are up for partnerships – win-win.”

The SANPC is a State-owned company created by the merger of iGas (the South African Gas Development Company), PetroSA (the Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa) and the Strategic Fuel Fund. This merger became effective on May 1.

The new company is now in Phase 2 of its development, which will run from this year to next year. This is its operationalisation phase. This involves the optimisation of its business and service model, the operationalisation of its assets, the obtaining of approvals under the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Act, the development of revenue generation options, the integration of its staff and the inculcation of a values-based performance culture, the development of a strategy and the prioritisation of key business activities and projects, as well as the creation of strategic partnerships and alliances.

“We want to be the Africa [energy] champion, the national champion,” he highlighted. “Our value proposition is national energy security.”

The company’s strategic objectives are, indeed, energy security, achieving commercial sustainability for the CEF Group (previously the Central Energy Fund), and to contribute to the country’s economic recovery. The SANPC will also support South Africa’s Just Energy Transition. Taking everything together, the company will contribute to social development and prosperity in South Africa.

“You make big decisions, you win big,” he stressed. “The road ahead will be bumpy. We’re going to face challenges. We need to get cracking. There’s no better time than now.”