New CEO for SA's state oil company

State oil company PetroSA announced on Wednesday that it had appointed Pragasen Naidoo as its new Group CEO with effect from January 17.

He takes over from the group's interim head, Bongani Siyadini. 

Naidoo previously served served as the group chief operations and business development officer at the Central Energy Fund, the holding company under which PetroSA falls.

PetroSA chairperson, Frans Baleni, said in a statement that Naidoo’s "demonstrable industry experience and acumen will continue to deliver value to the entity’s shareholders and stakeholders through good governance, operational excellence, and sustainable growth".

"We are confident that he will contribute immensely towards addressing our business’ sustainability challenges, as well as positioning PetroSA for the future,” he said.

In 2019 the Auditor General reported to Parliament that low global crude oil prices were taking their toll on the national oil company. It reported a net loss of R382.3m for the 2017/18 financial year, and a loss of R1.4bn in the previous year. 

- Compiled by Jan Cronje