South Africa is preparing to appoint a new chief executive officer of state oil and gas company PetroSA, ending a more than yearlong leadership vacuum, Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe submitted the name of a CEO in November\u201d, and they will be appointed once the cabinet gives its approval, Mantashe said by phone on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PetroSA, in a later statement, said Sandisiwe Ncemane, who has been acting CEO since October 2022, has been \u201creleased\u201d to her former employer, the Central Energy Fund. She will be replaced, in an acting capacity, by Sesakho Magadla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cActing appointments are interim pending the official appointment of a group chief executive officer,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ncemane was competing with Chairman Nkululeko Poya for the post<\/strong>, said the people familiar with the decision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Poya is said to be favoured for the role by Mantashe, and Danny Stimela, an acting manager in the CEO\u2019s office, is also a contender<\/strong>, the people added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Late last year, PetroSA, which has made a series of losses, courted controversy by selecting a unit of Russia\u2019s Gazprom Group to help revive its gas-to-liquid fuel refinery in the southern town of Mossel Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n South Africa\u2019s cabinet endorsed the decision, in a move that\u2019s likely irked the US, which has imposed sanctions on the state-owned Russian firm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Four foreign banks told PetroSA they will sever relations with the company if it proceeds, Africa Intelligence reported. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The US is South Africa\u2019s second-biggest trade partner and has criticized the African country\u2019s relationship with Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A final investment decision will be made in the next two months, people familiar with the situation said, asking not to be identified as a public announcement hasn\u2019t been made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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