• General State of the Economy
• Energy Resources
• Energy Balance
• Energy Infrastructure
• Education and Innovation
• Ecology and Environment Protection
• References

Source: [1,2,3,4,5]

South Africa does not possess significant reserves of oil and natural gas and relies on their import to meet domestic energy needs, however, for coal reserves the country is included in the top 10 countries with the largest resources (Table 1).

Table 1. Fossil energy resources of South Africa

*share of the country’s reserves in world total is provided in brackets
**unproved technically recoverable

In terms of tons of oil equivalent, in 2016-2018 proved reserves of conventional hydrocarbons in South Africa were: coal – 99.8 %, oil – 0.2% (Fig.5). The unconventional natural resource matrix looks much different: shale gas – 99.6%, oil shale – 0.2%, coal mine methane utilization potential – 0.2% (Fig. 5).
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the country has the world's 10^th largest amount of recoverable coal reserves and possesses 75% of Africa's total coal reserve – 35 053 million short tons in 2016 [6]. In BP's report, the total proved coal reserves in the country at the end of 2020 were estimated at 9 893 million tons [7].
According to calculations made by Advanced Energy Technologies, the methane utilization potential, according to the methodology based on methane emissions from [8] and coal reserves from [7], amounted to about 98-247 Bcm.
Proved reserves of oil in South Africa in 2018 were estimated at 15 million barrels [3]. Source [9] notes that at the end of 2008, in-place resources of oil shale amounted to almost 130 million barrels, and according to [10] unproved technically recoverable resources of shale gas were 389.7 Tcf (Table 1).
South Africa has a great resource potential in the development of clean energy production. A selection of basic indicators of this type of resource is presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Renewable energy resources of South Africa

*for most of the territory of the country

The level of global horizontal radiation in most of the country is 5.5-7.0 kWh/m²/day [11]. The highest level of solar radiation can be observed in the west, and in the region of Northern Cape – about 8.0-8.5 kWh/m2/day [11]. The distribution of wind resources is as follows: in most of the country the wind speed is 5.6-6.4 m/s [12], while in the south, south-west and south-east of the country wind speeds may exceed 9 m/sec (at a height of 90m). According to “State of Renewable Energy in South Africa 2015”, the potential for a new small-scale hydropower development is estimated at 247 MW in Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and Mpumalanga [13]. In the south and south-west of the country there is significant potential for tidal energy that can reach 60 kW/m and more [14]. According to data for 2018, 79.8% of the territory of South Africa is occupied by agricultural land, while the forest area occupies 7.6% [15,16]. The level of generation of municipal waste in South Africa (2 kg per person/day) is slightly lower than the level of highly-developed countries [17]. On one hand, municipal waste is a valuable raw material for recycling or energy production, which is actively used in South Africa, but on the other hand, long-term decomposing substances can significantly pollute the environment.

According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2021, total primary energy consumption in South Africa in 2020 was 4.9 Exajoules, about 71% of which was coal, 20.8%  – oil, 3.0% –natural gas, 2.86% –  nuclear energy, 2.2% – renewable energy [7].
Oil production between 2001-2021 was declining, and in 2021 it was 112 thousand barrels/day [18]. The volume of oil consumption in the country since 2007 has shown a growth (Fig.2), reaching the level of 555 thousand barrels/day in 2019 [18]. Crude oil imports in 2017 were 404 000 bbl/day [3].
The production of natural gas in South Africa has been gradually decreasing since 2001 and reached the level of 43 Bcf in 2019 [18]. The consumption of natural gas, at the same time, has been gradually increasing and reached the level of 169 Bcf in 2019 [18].

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Sep 2023) / https://www.eia.gov/

Figure 2. The production and consumption of fossil fuels in South Africa (oil –left, gas — in the center, coal –right)
 
Coal production in the country has remained practically unchanged since 2001, with slight fluctuations, not exceeding 290 million short tons, and in 2020 it was 272 million short tons; coal consumption did not exceed 210 million short tons, and in 2020 it was 185 million short tons [18].
According to BP's report in 2018, coal production amounted to 143.2 million tons of oil equivalent, while consumption was estimated at 86 million tons of oil equivalent [7]. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, South Africa was the 5th largest coal exporter in 2017, the majority of the country’s coal is being exported to Asia, primarily to India [5].
South Africa mainly relies on fossil fuels for the production of electricity, although the share of renewables has been slowly growing in the last couple of years (Fig. 3.).

                                                   Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Sep 2023) / www.eia.gov

                                    Figure 3. Electricity production in South Africa

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, South Africa in 2020 produced 223 TWh of electricity, where fossil fuels accounted for 88.8%, renewables –7.1%, nuclear energy –5.4%, and include hydropower 2.5% (Fig.6).
Positioning of South Africa on the diagram of energy indices is shown on Figure 4.

Indices based on reserves of coal and export opportunities show South Africa’s distinct advantage over most of the world. However, the shortage of oil and natural gas, the production of which is noticeably lower than the level of consumption, in South Africa is very tangible. In this regard, indices based on these resources are either absent or look extremely negative.
In another rating - the list of countries for the production of electricity from renewable sources (excluding hydropower) in 2017  - the country was 80^th out of 213 countries selected for consideration.
In the Energy Architecture Performance Index 2017, which is based first on the level of economic growth, environmental safety, and energy independence of the country, including access to energy, South Africa was 76^th; it should be noted that during the last 8 years the country has gained 10 ranking positions.
South Africa is in the middle of the graph for such indicators as GDP per unit of energy expended in 2020 - 59^th; similarly, for such indicators as energy use per capita the country is 42^nd.
In terms of electricity consumption per capita, the country is 76^th in the world, however, for the indicator of combination of electricity production-consumption, South Africa is 17^th in the ranked list of 216 countries.

The set of indices reflecting the position of South Africa among other countries in the field of education and innovation can be seen in Figure 8. As follows from the presented diagrams, South Africa belongs to a number of countries with a high level of education and innovation, which in many ways predetermines technological development in the field of energy.
According to the number of patents granted to South African residents, both inside the country and abroad, the country ranks 33^rd in the world. By the number of valid patents, the country is ranked 25^th in the world, which largely characterizes the country's patent attractiveness.

South Africa is 61^st out of 132 countries considered in the ranking of countries of the Global Innovation Index 2018 (see diagram). In terms of government expenditure on education as a percentage of the country's GDP, the country demonstrates a result close to the world average – 32^nd out of 177 countries selected for consideration. In terms of public expenditure on research and development as a percentage of GDP, South Africa is 42^th. The country is very well positioned when considering the number of publications of specialists in scientific and technological journal and patent activities. South Africa is 35^th out of 240 participating countries in the Scimago ranking, and in Scientific and Technical Journal Activities it is ranked 29^th out of 197 countries. The country is also among the leaders in the region in terms of the number of Internet users.
About fifteen South African universities, including the University of Cape Town, Durban University of Technology, the University of Pretoria, and the University of the Witwatersrand train specialists in various fields of energy, such as Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mining Engineering, Renewable Energy Engineering.
Sasol Technology (Pty) Ltd, Petro ZA are among the leaders of patenting among South African companies in the field of synthetic fuel production, extraction and processing of unconventional oil. Studies in this field have been conducted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Ltd. Scientific research and development in the field of associated petroleum gas is carried out by the University of the Witwatersrand and Det Norske Veritas.
A large number of companies patent technical solutions in the field of energy production from renewable sources. In the field of bioenergy the following companies should be mentioned: Sasol Technology (Pty) Ltd and Lurgi Clean Coal Technology (Proprietary) Ltd. The University of the Witwatersrand, Stellenbosch University have the highest number of publications in this area.
Another area where South African and international companies actively conduct research is the extraction of hydrocarbons from low-permeability reservoirs, here we should mention the University of Cape Town and iThemba LABS.
Studies in the field of concentrated solar energy have been conducted by Stellenbosch University and the University of Pretoria. The University of Pretoria carries out scientific research and development in the field of wind energy.

A diagram of environmental indices is shown in Figure 9. This figure shows the indices that have an indirect effect on the energy sector, but in many respects predetermine its future. The environmental situation in the country is extremely negative. First of all, the country demonstrates a relatively high level of CO₂ emissions in general, and per capita, the level of methane emissions is also very high. At the same time, the situation is aggravated by the fact that South Africa is 39^th in the 64 countries responsible for more than 90% of global CO₂ emissions related to energy in the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2022.
In terms of forest area as a percentage of the country, South Africa was 156^th in the world in 2020; at the same time, the trend associated with its change from 2010-2020 looks very negative and according to this indicator the country is 198^th in the world. The country also performed poorly in the Environmental Performance Index rankings (EPI) 2020, which focuses primarily on assessing the environmental performance of national governments. Here, South Africa was 95^th out of 180 countries.

The overall negative picture is aggravated by the Ecological Footprint Atlas rating, according to which South Africa is among a number of ecological debtors.