23 April 2025 - Wits Business School’s African Energy Leadership Centre (AELC) will be hosting a symposium on the state of natural gas supply in South Africa on 7 May 2025 in collaboration with the Industrial Gas Users Association of Southern Africa (IGUA-SA).

This is in response to the looming ‘gas cliff’ which could lead to a shortage of natural gas that will severely impact the country’s energy security and industrial competitiveness. This calls for an urgent conversation among all stakeholders in the oil and gas sector. 

“The state of affairs warrants all stakeholders in South Africa to proactively engage and explore economically viable options for South Africa to avoid the impending natural gas shortage while ensuring that the country delivers on its climate change commitments in line with the Paris Agreement,” says Professor David Phaho, Director of the AELC.

The Symposium will be addressed by the Minister of Electricity and Energy Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. The sessions will address the challenges, opportunities, and solutions in the upstream, downstream, and midstream sectors, as well as fiscal frameworks, the policy and regulatory environment, investment opportunities, and the role of academia in future research, technology and innovation in the natural gas sector. 

“The aim of the Natural Gas Symposium is to dissect the inherent challenges and opportunities across the entire natural gas value chain and ultimately to develop a new compact among all stakeholders for a well-functioning South African gas sector,” says Professor Phaho.

Jaco Human, Chief Executive of IGUA-SA, adds that the central objective of the symposium is to catalyse the formation of a multidisciplinary gas think tank, convening public- and private-sector leaders – especially government decision-makers – to collectively address South Africa’s gas challenges and opportunities and to deliberately integrate:

• Policy and regulation – engaging government stakeholders on legislative and regulatory direction
• Transactional enablers – including commercial banks, DFIs, and project developers
• Academic and technical expertise – bringing evidence-based analysis and systems thinking
• Industry leadership – from upstream production to midstream infrastructure and downstream users.

The line-up of speakers include representatives from the Offshore Petroleum  Association of South Africa (OPASA), the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA), Transnet Pipelines, the South African Oil and Gas Alliance (SAOGA), Egoli Gas, Eskom, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), Sasol, Standard Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, the Central Energy Fund, the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), the Africa Energy Corp., as well as Wits Business School and Wits University, among others.

The event will take place at the Donald Gordon Auditorium, Wits Business School on Wednesday 7 May 2025, starting at 09h00.

For more information please contact: 

Alison.gaylard@wits.ac.za

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About the African Energy Leadership Centre (AELC)

The AELC was formed in 2017 and is the first of its kind in Africa. The Centre equips future leaders to manage the multiple challenges in the energy sector, including the transition to cleaner technologies and a just energy transition. It aims to address the issue of a lack of scarce skills to help Africa reach its full economic potential. The AELC has established itself as a respected thought leader in energy issues providing a platform for public debate and discussion. It has developed cutting-edge academic programmes in energy leadership: a Master of Management and a Postgraduate Diploma in Energy Leadership.

For more information, please visit About Us - African Energy Leadership

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About Wits Business School

Wits Business School (WBS) is the graduate school of business administration of the University of the Witwatersrand, a renowned research institution based in Johannesburg, the financial heart of southern Africa. Founded in 1968, WBS is one of the oldest and most respected business schools in Africa, which has spearheaded new areas of study to take the next generation of African business leaders into the future. 

The enduring ‘Wits’ brand, recognised internationally, continues to symbolise academic rigour, research excellence and thought leadership on the African continent.

For more information, please visit www.wbs.ac.za.

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About the Industrial Gas Users’ Association of Southern Africa

IGUA-SA is a formal non-profit association of large industrial gas users in South Africa with its main objective being to ensure the efficient availability of piped gas into Southern Africa to meet the growing demand for gas.

For more information, please visit www.igua-sa.org