Xolile Sizani has been appointed CEO of state-owned oil company PetroSA, which is looking to resume operations at its refinery in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape, the cabinet announced on Thursday.
PetroSA also confirmed to Business Day on Thursday that its acting chair, Nkululeko Poya, who was previously in the running to become CEO, had resigned.
The CEO post has been vacant since the departure of Pragasen Naidoo in September 2022.
Sizani previously worked as CEO of Servest, the facilities management and cleaning solutions company. He has also had several roles at chemicals and energy group Sasol and at gas supplier Afrox.
It has previously been reported that minister of mineral resources & energy Gwede Mantashe had sought to appoint Poya, who is under investigation by the Hawks. However, the cabinet stalled the appointment. In September the DA called for Poya’s suspension pending the outcome of investigations into his fitness to hold office.
Poya allegedly drafted a court order purportedly from the Pretoria high court. He denies this and has blamed his former lawyers for the fraudulent document. The document downplayed the findings of a PwC report that accused Poya of several counts of wrongdoing while he was CEO of the Railway Safety Regulator between 2013 and 2016.
PetroSA has recently faced much scrutiny over a controversial decision to select Russia’s Gazprombank Africa as the preferred investment partner to restart operations at its gas-to-liquid refinery in Mossel Bay.
The production of petrol, diesel and other value-added products from the gas-to-liquids refinery, which was running at a capacity of 36,000 barrels a day, was suspended in 2020 after offshore gas feedstock was depleted.
The deal is still awaiting a final investment decision and terms and conditions, which are expected to be finalised in April, though cabinet has already endorsed PetroSA’s decision.
The deal risks further souring SA’s relations with the US, which are already under strain over the government’s implicit support for Russia in its war with Ukraine. Gazprombank Africa is a subsidiary of Gazprombank, which is under US sanctions imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Update: February 29 2024
This story has been updated with additional information.
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