South Africa should consider Russian crude imports, Mantashe says

Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe at the 2020 Investing in African Mining Indaba. Source: Reuters/Mike Hutchings

"We should consider importing crude oil from Russia at a low price because it is not sanctioned," Mantashe said during a parliamentary debate on domestic fuel prices.

The United States and the European Union have announced sanctions on Russian oil imports, prompting many oil importers to shun trade with Moscow and pushing spot prices for Russian crude to record discounts against other grades.

But the US and EU sanctions do not formally prohibit consumers outside their jurisdictions from buying Russian oil, and South Africa's fellow members of the Brics group of emerging nations India and China have snapped up cheap Russian oil.

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Close ties with Moscow

South Africa has close historical ties to Moscow due to the Soviet Union's support for the anti-apartheid struggle.

It abstained from a United Nations vote denouncing the invasion of Ukraine, and last month South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said "bystander countries" were suffering due to sanctions against Russia.

Like governments around the world, South Africa has rolled out subsidies to ease pressure on consumers from higher fuel costs. In May, it extended a fuel levy reduction at an estimated cost of R4.5bn in lost government revenue.