PETROLEUM RESOURCES: DRAFT STRATEGIC STOCK POLICY RELEASED FOR COMMENT

PETROLEUM RESOURCES: DRAFT STRATEGIC STOCK POLICY RELEASED FOR COMMENT

• 10 July 2026
• Minerals & Energy
• SA Legal Academy

The Department of Minerals & Petroleum Resources has gazetted a draft policy on strategic petroleum stock – calling for input by 9 August 2026.

According to the document’s executive summary, its overarching objective is to ensure that there is an adequate ‘buffer of physical stocks’ for release ‘during a declared state of emergency’. This is noting that:

• the strategic reserve ‘is specifically intended for catastrophic events rather than minor operational inefficiencies’, and that
• South Africa ‘is a net importer of both crude oil and refined petroleum products’.

With that in mind, the draft policy:

• outlines a ‘comprehensive framework designed to safeguard the national economy against severe fuel supply disruptions and global market volatility’, and
• proposes that the prevailing ‘voluntary stockholding model’ is replaced with ‘a regulated, mandatory regime’ in terms of which:
  • government would hold ‘a mix of stock’ equivalent to ‘90 days of net imports … primarily in the form of crude oil’ (ensuring the state’s readiness to ‘manage long-term strategic security and cushion the economy against global supply chains shocks’), while
  • licensed manufacturers and wholesalers would be required ‘to maintain an additional 14 days of refined product stocks, such as diesel, petrol and jet fuel’ (contributing towards ‘immediate downstream resilience’).

Please click the link below for more information:

• draft policy

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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