{"id":97595,"date":"2025-05-11T10:52:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T08:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=97595"},"modified":"2025-05-11T10:52:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T08:52:05","slug":"south-africas-looming-gas-crisis-experts-urge-swift-action-to-avert-job-losses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/south-africas-looming-gas-crisis-experts-urge-swift-action-to-avert-job-losses\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa\u2019s Looming Gas Crisis: Experts Urge Swift Action to Avert Job Losses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read
\n11 May 2025 | 10:48 CAT<\/p>\n

\"\"

South Africa is facing a looming gas crisis as the primary supply from Mozambique shows signs of decline. Image: Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

South Africa is fast approaching a critical juncture in its energy security, with experts warning of a \u201cgas cliff\u201d set to hit by June 2026. This imminent depletion of the Pande-Tamane gas fields in Mozambique \u2014 South Africa\u2019s primary source of natural gas \u2014 could endanger more than 70,000 jobs and cripple key manufacturing industries across the country.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Radio Islam International<\/a>, Professor David Phaho emphasised the urgency of the situation: \u201cUnless we do something drastic in the next couple of years, we will run out of gas.\u201d The knock-on effect would be significant, with gas not only powering industries but also serving as vital feedstock for subsoil petrochemical operations.<\/p>\n

To mitigate this, the African Energy Leadership Centre and IGU-ASA recently hosted a symposium exploring sustainable solutions. Among them, the import of liquefied natural gas from international suppliers, including Qatar, was tabled. Phaho noted three potential import routes \u2014 through Richards Bay, Durban, or Matola in Mozambique \u2014 stressing the need for rapid infrastructure development: \u201cThese ports need sophisticated infrastructure… and public-private partnerships are now accelerating this work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Short-term imports aside, Phaho underlined the long-term necessity for domestic development. He pointed to gas-rich areas such as the offshore Orange Basin and various onshore sites, urging South Africa to harness its own resources: \u201cSecurity of supply is critical. We must explore and develop our indigenous natural gas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crucially, Phaho also addressed the role of natural gas in South Africa\u2019s energy transition. As a cleaner-burning fossil fuel, it provides a bridge toward a low-carbon future. \u201cNatural gas emits significantly less CO\u2082 than coal. It is a critical transition fuel in meeting our 2050 climate goals,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

With climate change already affecting weather patterns and South Africa being one of the world\u2019s top CO\u2082 emitters, Phaho concluded: \u201cThis is not just about industry. It\u2019s about climate responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

The message is clear: time is running out, and decisive action is no longer optional.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up with Moulana Junaid Kharsany Professor David Phaho here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 11 May 2025 | 10:48 CAT South Africa is fast approaching a critical juncture in its energy security, with experts warning of a \u201cgas cliff\u201d set to hit by June 2026. This imminent depletion of the Pande-Tamane gas fields in Mozambique \u2014 South Africa\u2019s primary source of natural gas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":97596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4996,28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-Untitled-2025-05-08T122915.867-1.jpg.optimal.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-po7","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 11:50:43","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}