“I don’t think we are ashamed of importing gas from Russia. We are members of BRICS. We want to increase trade with Russia,” South African Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe said on Thursday during budget hearings for his ministry in parliament.

In December 2023, the South African government greenlit the African division of Russian Gazprombank—Gazprombank Africa—as a partner for modernizing the refinery, Mossel Bay. The South African authorities regard the rapid recommissioning of the Mossel Bay refinery as a top priority for national energy.