South Africa likely to have oil refinery, petroleum plant; Saudi Arabia to invest USD 10bn

Saudi Arabia is in conversation to manufacture a crude-oil refinery in South Africa as part of a pledge last year to invest as much as USD 10 billion in Africa’s most developed economy.

The next steps will be joint studies conducted by Saudi Aramco and South Africa’s Central Energy Fund, energy ministers from the two countries told reporters in Pretoria on Friday. South Africa’s Jeff Radebe and Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih signed a declaration of intent to cooperate in the field of oil and gas, Bloomberg reported.

“There have been exchanges of talks by Saudi Aramco teams and they have been supported by the South African energy ministry,” Al-Falih opined.

The recent discussions between officials from the two countries also included the possibility of Saudi Aramco using oil storage tanks in Saldanha Bay and a proposed petrochemical chemical plant, the ministers said. “There are many priorities right now, but our major priority right now is the issue of the refinery,” said Radebe.

On the other hand, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is trying to woo foreign investors to help revive a struggling economy as he prepares for a parliamentary election this year. Saudi Prince Mohammed Bin Salman already met Ramaphosa and discussed on the side-lines of the Group of 20 summit in Argentina in November.