The fallout from the Gulf war is being felt in Nelson Mandela Bay, where fuel stations are running dry, triggering long queues and high prices.
While there’s no immediate evidence of a supply shortage from the Gulf, the catalyst is the reduced volumes being released by the petroleum companies — which point to the war, and their need to protect existing stocks.
Questions are being asked around how much this shortage or impending shortage is the problem — and how much is mere strategising by the suppliers with an eye on the anticipated fuel price increases on April 1.
Whatever the case, the result has been long queues at filling stations, not enough fuel to go around, and alleged varying price hikes at the different retail outlets, all generated by a supplier surcharge.
Johan du Plessis, PE Fuels Group MD and owner of Engen Truck Stop in Swartkops, said the problem started ealier this month. “We would go to the gantry requesting a certain amount [of fuel] and they would give us much less.
“When we queried it, they told us it was the Gulf war, which was jeopardising supply, and consequently they needed to protect their stock. The result is we have been running dry at about 2pm daily and the same is being experienced at other retail outlets.”
He said most of the major oil companies had implemented product rationing, some more aggressively than others, which had led to stock outages provincially and nationally.
“As a result, retail petrol stations and fuel resellers have also had to introduce rationing measures and cap volumes sold to customers.
“This is being done to prevent sites from running dry and to manage panic buying and stockpiling.
“While not officially attributed to a supply shortage, these constraints are materially affecting availability on the ground, and there’s currently no clear indication of when conditions will normalise.”
Du Plessis said price had been affected, stemming from the surcharges most petroleum companies have introduced across all products.
“These vary by supplier but are broadly in the range of 5c to over R4 per litre for petrol, 20c to over R8 per litre for diesel, and up to around R10 per litre for illuminating paraffin.
“These surcharges are over and above normal pricing and have had a significant impact on fuel costs.”
He said PE Fuels, supplied predominantly by Engen, distributed fuel to a broad customer base including retail petrol stations and companies in the transport and fishing industries.
“Our ability to supply has been severely impacted by the current rationing measures and, unfortunately, we don’t yet know when the situation will improve.”
He said he was not convinced that the reduced supply at the gantry was based on insufficient petroleum coming from the Gulf.
“It may also be influenced by stock management strategies by some oil companies, potentially linked to the anticipated price increases on April 1, as well as efforts to manage demand and prevent panic buying.”
The situation in the Bay correlated with a list circulating on social media of 27 fuel stations around SA, all of them “out of stock”.
Speaking at the 5th Annual Southern Africa Oil & Gas Conference earlier this week, mineral and petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe said substantial fuel price increases were increasingly unavoidable for SA as a result of the war.
“To maintain product availability, the department remains in constant engagement with industry players to explore all possible supply sources.
“These engagements are aimed at ensuring uninterrupted fuel availability in the domestic market, without immediately utilising SA’s strategic reserves.”
Responding to this, DA spokesperson for mineral and petroleum resources, James Lorimer, said while the minister had indicated there was no need for South Africans to panic, Mantashe had failed to mention a vital point.
“He avoided revealing the state of SA’s fuel reserves.
“By law there must be two months’ fuel supply in reserve at any one time.
“The minister’s failure to confirm if this is being met raises serious concerns that the two-month reserve has not been maintained.
“To settle public worries about shortages, he should disclose the exact state of SA’s fuel reserves without delay.”
FF+ member of parliament Wynand Boschoff also challenged the minister’s speech, saying his party had received a number of letters from fuel suppliers warning of possible shortages at fuel stations.
“There is also the long list circulating on social media of filling stations that have already run dry.
“The minister says we have enough fuel. Where is it?
“A possible explanation is that stock is being held back until next month’s fuel hike. At the moment, under-recovery on petrol is around R4 per litre and about R7 on diesel. This means withholding stock could potentially maximise profits.”
Boshoff said fuel shortages, real or artificially created, could inflict enormous damage on the economy.
“They may lead to price increases that ordinary consumers cannot absorb and even result in food shortages in vulnerable communities.
“The country’s summer-sowing regions are approaching harvest time. It would be disastrous if crops are left [abandoned]. In fact, the entire economy is dependent on liquid fuel.”
He said with Sasol producing just 30% of SA’s fuel needs domestically and importing the rest, the country was extremely vulnerable during global conflicts.
“The FF+ trusts the department will maintain the transparency it promised.”
Sasol for its part said it was currently able to supply the Eastern Cape with fuel.
“We have 22 fuel stations in the Eastern Cape and supply approximately six-million litres a month to the province. Sasol does not ... import fuel from the Middle East.”
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