Minister sees chance oil may split from South African mines law

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Bloomberg) -- South Africa may split rules for the nascent oil and gas industry from its amended mining laws should the government find the regulations are at odds with the constitution, the mineral resources minister said. The government is testing whether the changes to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act are constitutional after they were passed by Parliament earlier this year. There are “interesting opinions in that regard,” Ngoako Ramatlhodi told reporters in Johannesburg Oct. 8. Oil, gas and mining “are different animals, therefore justifying different sorts of rules,” he said.

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