Ensuring that the economy is well served by South Africa’s energy resources has become one of the government’s overriding concerns. Coal deposits are South Africa’s primary energy resource, with reserves estimated at 30.16bn tonnes as of the end of 2011. Due to an electricity deficit, the government has commissioned two coal-fired power stations, but even as new capacity is added, demand...
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Chapter | Energy & Utilities from The Report: South Africa 2013
The mining industry in South Africa is the fifth largest in the world, and today it accounts for more than 5% of the nation’s GDP. Moreover, the sector remains one of the country’s most important sources of employment, providing 16.2% – or nearly 1.4m – of the total formal non-agricultural jobs. The labour unrest that was seen in 2012 highlighted some of the challenges faced by the sector as it...
With a long-established track record as the continent’s largest financial platform and one of the world’s biggest mining producers, South Africa has significant economic clout in the region.
Articles & Analysis | Up for shale: The unconventional gas market has introduced new supplies and challenges to the hydrocarbons industry from The Report: Colombia 2013
Cheap, plentiful energy has long been a precondition of the industrial age. In recent years though, conventional reserves of fossil fuels such as oil and gas have been steadily dwindling. With renewables not yet sufficiently developed to end dependence on these resources, the world faced a stark choice: either return to more hazardous and more...
Interviews & Viewpoints | OBG talks to Federico Renjifo Vélez, Minister of Mines and Energy from The Report: Colombia 2013
What is being done to facilitate foreign direct investment (FDI) in the energy and mining sectors?
Articles & Analysis | The unconventional: Development of previously inaccessible reserves could play a vital role in the long term from The Report: Colombia 2013
Thanks to the development of new technologies such as fracking and offshore drilling, hydrocarbons reserves previously thought inaccessible are being exploited. Colombia’s experience in developing these resources is limited, though recent auctions of unconventional blocks could open the door to extra reserves of oil and gas. The incorporation of...