Energy Minister Jeff Radebe said last week that a percentage of procurement contracts for the supply of diesel to the mining sector, defence and state-owned enterprises should be reserved for black-owned petroleum companies.

Speaking at the launch of the Black Energy Professionals’ Association last week, Radebe said: “The area of supply of diesel to the mining sector, defence and state-owned companies is an area that should have set asides for black-owned petroleum companies.

“These are major consuming industries that can contribute to radical socio-economic transformation.” Avhapfani Tshifularo, executive director of the South African Petroleum Industry Association (Sapia), said on Friday that the body – which represents the main petroleum and liquefied petroleum gas companies in South Africa – was not aware of the plans to have the set asides. Radebe said transformation in the country’s oil and gas sector had not been “at the pace that we expected”.

He said the Department of Energy would unlock opportunities in the fuel retailing sector, which he said had gross under representation of African women and men.

He said the department was conducting an audit that would be used as a baseline from which transformation targets for oil companies would be set.

He said the department had started with work to align the Liquid Fuels Charter to the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act “and to ultimately develop a sector-specific code of good practice in order to ensure compliance with the B-BBEE Act.”

Tshifularo said Sapia had been in discussions with the government about the alignment of the charter to the B-BBEE Act. Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies last year published a proclamation on the alignment of the liquid fuels charter and the BBBEE.

The proclamation said a sector code would be adopted after “a structured inclusive engagement” and negotiations between the Department of Energy, the petroleum and liquid fuels industry and other stakeholders. It said a draft B-BBEE aligned Petroleum and Liquid Fuels Sector Code would be agreed to by all the stakeholders, submitted to the Minister of Trade and Industry for issuance by notice in the Gazette for a 60-day public commentary period before its approval as a final binding document.

Radebe said the recent signing of power purchase agreements between Eskom and 27 independent power producers (IPPs) for renewable energy projects would enhance black participation in renewable energy.