US sanctions on Gazprombank not applicable in South Africa: PetroSA

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PetroSA says that the sanctions imposed by the US on Russia’s Gazprombank do not apply to South Africa.

PetroSA Chief Operations Officer, Sesakho Magadla says energy security is among the few exemptions applied to the sanctions imposed on Russian companies.

Her comments follow the Cabinet’s approval of Russia’s Gazprombank Africa as the preferred strategic partner for the restart of its gas-to-liquid refinery in Mossel Bay.

The US sanctions have been raised by critics as a core risk that would deepen tensions between South Africa and the US.

Magadla says this is a misplaced concern.

“The risk of secondary sanctions would have been an issue that affects us as South Africa, we understand that there is no secondary sanctions. We also understand that since the sanctions have been issued there have been multiple changes in the sanctions, a few of them include exemptions. The exemptions include a few things, one is that critical energy security is exempted from sanctions.”