A tug of hydrocarbons love could well play itself out in the next few months as two government departments vie for control of upstream oil and gas regulation. While the Department of Energy (DoE) seems tailor-made for the job, the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) is proceeding on the basis that a DMR regional office will regulate upstream petroleum. Herbert Smith Freehills associate Ben Winks views this as a critical issue that has the potential to develop into a turf war between the DoE and the DMR, to the detriment of the South African economy, which is already reeling from the absence of exploration commitment as a direct result of the legislative uncertainty surrounding upstream petroleum development.