The DA’s James Lorimer believes South Africa is on the cusp of hitting a natural resources jackpot, as transformative as the discovery of diamonds in 1867 and the Witwatersrand gold basin twenty years later. In this uplifting interview, the Shadow Minister of Minerals and Energy explains how the offshore Orange Basin, which extends from southern Namibia to beyond Cape Town, has 10x the oil and gas potential of Total’s vaunted gas discovery off the southern Cape. Lorimer adds that after a tortuous process, revised legislation before Parliament will, finally, be aligned with global norms and thus acceptable to multinational oil majors. He reckons that given the prospective nature of the geography and this year’s rich strikes in Namibia, once the legislation is passed, the oil majors are likely to invest heavily in exploration. With each well costing around R500m and the nation pocketing roughly 60% of all revenue generated from oil and gas produced, Lorimer advocates making it possible to adopt an approach of “drill, baby, drill” by Shell, Total, and their peers - not just off SA’s West Coast but also to exploit the Karoo’s shale gas potential. Lorimer shared the excellent news with Alec Hogg of BizNews.
17 июл 2024
