• The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) wants to assure South Africans that no fuel shortages are looming.
• This after comments made by the Liquid Fuel Wholesale Association (LFWA) that the country could see liquid fuel rationing in the near future.
• The DMRE says that government has invested in liquid fuel for years to ensure that fuel security remains resilient.

South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) wants to assure citizens that there is no imminent fuel shortage looming over the country.

On Tuesday, the Liquid Fuel Wholesale Association (LFWA) CEO Peter Morgan told Independent Media in an interview that South Africa had zero strategic stocks of liquid fuels in the country during the recent Transnet wage strike and that the country’s liquid fuel was replenished “just in time” to avoid a collapse of the market.

The Association said that because of this shortage of stock, “someone was being rationed” – IOL uses the incendiary phrase “fuel shedding.”

“We do know the oil majors use any stocks they have for their needs first – so it is the independent wholesalers who are always being rationed. The oil majors operate in the urban areas, while independent wholesalers operate in the non-urban areas, therefore this means the security of supply to non-urban areas is of concern,” Morgan said.

Morgan continued that the DMRE and the country’s liquid fuel industry need to form a consensus on who would pay for strategic stock of liquid fuels to avoid this shortage ever occurring again.

The LFWA also commented at the time that the country could be facing possible liquid fuel supply shortages. Today, however, the DMRE is rebuking the LFWA’s comments, according to SA News.

“The DMRE would like to assure South Africans that there is no imminent shortage of liquid fuels in the country, and predictions made by the Liquid Fuel Wholesalers Association (LFWA) are very unfortunate,” the government body said.

Adding that “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 explained further that the government has made sure to invest in fuel import “for years” which contributes to South Africa’s liquid fuel security.

“Over a number of years, the government deliberately enabled investment in fuel import terminals when the reliability of existing petroleum refineries was in question. These import terminals provided the backup to existing refineries and this has proven to have been a correct strategy as refineries close. The import terminals throughout the country’s ports are able to ensure security of fuel supply,” the department said.

Additionally, major investments made by neighbouring states Mozambique and Namibia further strengthen the “region’s fuel supply position.”

The LFWA’s comments only add kindling to the fears that South Africa could face a similar petrol shortage to the one being seen in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and its largest economy by sheer gross domestic product (GDP).

Some petrol stations in the West African country are seeing long lines of cars and motorcycles where Nigerians are waiting for up to eight hours of the day for a chance to fill up.

Nigeria’s petrol crisis has been aggravated by the war in Ukraine, which is also causing energy shortages across European nations like France and the UK.

Petrol prices are stable in South Africa as of the time of writing, with a slight increase forecast for next month by the Central Energy Fund (CEF) group.

[Image – CC 0 Engin Akyurt on Pexels]