Government clears up warnings of fuel shortages in South Africa

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) says the supply chain of petroleum products to South Africa is “resilient” and that there are currently no fuel supply shortages in the country.

This follows comments made by the Liquid Fuel Wholesale Association (LFWA) that the country is facing possible liquid fuel supply crunch.

Earlier this week, Peter Morgan, the chief executive officer of LFWA, said that a lack of domestic fuel reserves, pricing methodology issues and the overreliance on the importation of fuel have combined to create a perfect storm that threatens fuel security in South Africa.

However, the DMRE has moved to remove panic from the market, saying that fuel security is not currently under threat.

“The supply chain of the petroleum sector in South Africa is resilient even as the disruptive geopolitical war in Eastern Europe rages on. The department engages the industry on a weekly basis on supply issues and will seek clarity from the LFWA on its comments.”

The DMRE assured that there is no imminent shortage of liquid fuels in the country, describing the predictions made by the LFWA as “unfortunate”.

The department said that the government has invested in fuel import for years, which contributes to fuel supply security, noting that it has enabled investment in import terminals when the reliability of existing petroleum refineries was in question.

The import terminals throughout the country’s ports are able to ensure the security of fuel supply, it said.

Pleas from industry figureheads and civil society organisations for the government to consider restocking its reserves have reportedly not been taken into account, however.

The LFWA said that South Africa is now in a position where it relies almost solely on importing oil and, with little to no refining capacity, is at the whims of global forces and possible delays if shipments encounter problems – thus increasing the risk of supply shortages.

South Africa has faced issues surrounding its refining capacity. Sasol, the largest fuel producer in South Africa, resumed its refinery in August after having to stop production while it awaited a supply of goods. The shutdown rendered South Africa’s entire fleet of oil refineries inoperative.

Aviation expert Des Latham said that instances as such have severe knock-on effects, such as further reliance on the importation of petrol (93 and 95) as well as other fuel products.

“This has become an issue because we are at the bottom end of Africa, and as supply chain issues evolve, we can not secure our own fuel supplies locally at the levels we need,” Latham said.

He said that the country would run into limitations if there were to be a supply shock.

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