South Africa's new ambassador to Egypt begins his duties
Written by: Ayman Ragab
The South African Embassy in Egypt announced the arrival of the newly appointed Ambassador Jomo Nyambi in Cairo.
She mentioned that Ambassador Nyambi will begin his diplomatic duties, prioritizing the enhancement of bilateral strategic cooperation between South Africa and Egypt in various sectors and fields, as well as supporting the African agenda and pushing it towards further progress.
Increase strategic oil reserves
In another context, South Africa plans to increase its strategic oil reserves for the first time since the end of apartheid, as part of its efforts to enhance measures aimed at mitigating the impact of supply disruptions in the global market.
Bloomberg reported that South Africa last increased its oil reserves in the 1970s, following UN sanctions imposed on it due to the apartheid policies of the then-ruling white minority. At that time, a storage facility was established in Saldanha Bay on the Atlantic coast with a capacity of 45 million barrels.
Concerns related to supply disruptions and rising global oil prices as a result of the US-Israeli war on Iran have revived the primary role of the Saldanha Bay storage facility, which is to build up oil reserves to counter any sharp supply shortages, according to the German news agency DPA.
And according to a draft policy document released by South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources and Energy for public comment on July 9, the country needs 10 million barrels to cover the current deficit in its oil reserves.
For its part, the South African National Treasury and the National Petroleum Corporation of South Africa have confirmed that they will work to develop financing mechanisms and tools to provide and ensure funding for strategic oil reserves.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy stated that the goal is to form a strategic reserve that covers the country's needs for 60 days, with crude oil constituting two-thirds of the quantity, while refined petroleum products make up the remaining third.
The target quantity is estimated at approximately 36 million barrels, worth several billion dollars. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates South Africa's oil needs at around 600,000 barrels per day.
