GWEDE Mantashe, the minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, has assured that South African Petroleum Refinery (Sapref) and other fuel storage depots have enough fuel reserves amid shortage fears caused by the USA/Israel war against Iran.

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Mantashe’s assurance comes amid diesel shortages caused by what the government has labelled as fuel hoarding by the major suppliers. On March 25, as he answered questions in Parliament, Mantashe called on South Africans not to panic as the South African fuel supply remains stable. He revealed that South Africa has at least eight million barrels of crude oil in its strategic fuel stock.

“The latest monitoring report confirms the overall supply is stable across petroleum products, with imports arriving as planned through mid-April. Sasol, Sapref, and the coal-to-liquid refinery in Secunda are ensuring that there is a reliable supply of energy,” said Mantashe.

He further stated that most of South Africa’s crude oil is imported from African countries and the Atlantic basin, not in the Middle East, with the country’s refining capacity at 40% of all fuel needed, with the remaining 60% imported. Mantashe added that supply is secured until the end of April, including jet fuel.

Sapref closed down as a crude oil refinery in 2022, and after being sold to the state-owned Central Energy Fund for R1 in 2024, it transitioned to being a storage depot for imported liquid fuels at its Island View terminal.

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Mantashe recently raised the ire of environmentalists when he said Sapref and other closed refineries need to be brought back to production to ensure the country’s fuel security.

Meanwhile, the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources and the Fuels Industry Association of SA (Fiasa) recently addressed calls that if the closed refineries, including Sapref, were still operational, there would not be concerns about supply shortages.

Fiasa CEO, Fani Tshifularo, said South Africa’s exposure to global oil market volatility would persist even if refineries were brought back to production.

“Even if those refineries were operational today, they would still be dependent on imported crude oil and subject to the same global price shocks,” he said.

Sapref currently has a fuel storage capacity of 525 000 cubic metres, and it receives and distributes over five billion litres of fuel per year.

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