The merger of three state-owned oil and gas firms to form a single national oil company approved by South Africa’s cabinet. The country tries to cut debt by reducing the number and increase the competitiveness of state-owned firms.
Almost all South Africa’s state-owned enterprises either heavily loss-making, bankrupt or stuck in a debt spiral. The need to fix the country’s state-owned enterprises has been stressed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, including South African Airways and power utility Eskom.
The Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF), gas development company iGas and PetroSA will be merged to form the National Oil Company. PetroSA explores for petroleum reserves and runs the Mossel Bay gas-to-liquid refinery.
A net loss of 2.08 billion rand ($123.62 million) reported by PetroSA for the financial year 2018/2019. A debt of 1.917 billion rand also reported by the company.
