Background
Norway has since 1998 provided assistance to South Africa in the petroleum and electricity sector. Since the late sixties, when oil was discovered off the Norwegian coast, Norway has become one of the leading petroleum countries in the world. Norway is today a major exporter of crude oil, and is also a major provider of natural gas. Due to its vast amounts of mountains and rivers, Norway has also a highly developed hydro power and electricity sector. Competence and administrative experience from the petroleum and the electricity sectors are the basis for the partnership between Norway and South Africa in the field of energy.
For the period until 2005, the Norwegian contribution was approx. ZAR 45 mill, and the sectors were mainly petroleum/gas and electricity. Norway has gone through a restructuring within the electricity sector. Due to this experience, it is beneficial with institutional co-operation between the two countries. Within the petroleum/gas sector, the focus for collaboration is on laws and regulations. In the latter years, also renewable energy is part of the collaboration.
In 2006 South Africa and Norway signed a new Business Plan: The South African Energy Sector Policy Research and Capacity Development Programme (RSA-3001). The programme runs until 2010, and has a total budget of NOK 35 mill. Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) is responsible for the Programme on the South African side.
Goals and Partners
The goal of the Programme is that legislation and regulatory frameworks are in place and implemented in support of the DME’s energy goals. The Programme assists in the development and implementation of strategic tools such as efficient regulators and sufficient capacity for the management of the energy sector. This should be in the best interest of the consumers and the long-term sustainability of economic growth and job creation, which in turn will contribute to reduce poverty.
The Collaboration is carried out in the Department of Energy, Energy Development cooperation in Central Energy Fund (CEF), the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) and Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA) and has three major components:
- Energy planning
- Climate Change
- Regulation
The Norwegian partners of collaboration are:
- The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (“Oljedirektoratet”)
- The Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority (“Petroleumstilsynet”)
- The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (“NVE”)