Operation Phakisa to drill 30 exploration wells in 10 years

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The bill was currently going through the parliamentary process and was to be finalised, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday, 13 August.

Zuma was giving the media a progress report on Operation Phakisa since its launch in October 2014.

"The aspiration of the offshore oil and gas exploration focus group of the Oceans Phakisa is the drilling of 30 exploration wells in 10 years.

"In their view, this would produce 370,000 barrels of oil and gas per day," Zuma said.

If the plans went ahead, government would create 130 000 jobs, an annual contribution to the GDP of $2.2bn (approximately R28.14bn) while reducing the country's dependence on oil and gas imports during production, he said.

"Work continues to explore opportunities in this sector further."

Source: News24