Fuel shortage concerns in South Africa

Several major fuel refineries in South Africa have shut down, and long queues have started forming at petrol stations in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng.

South African Petroleum Refineries (Sapref) has declared the riots and violent looting gripping the two provinces a force majeure event and warned that it has shut off its refinery in Durban.

Sapref is a joint venture between Shell and British Petroleum (BP) South Africa.

The refinery operator said that suppliers of materials that are critical to its operations had suspended deliveries to the refinery due to safety concerns for their staff and the risk of damage to their vehicles on the roads.
A spokesperson for Sapref told MyBroadband that the decision was taken after careful consideration of the risks involved, including the safety of its people and Sapref’s ability to continue operating safely without a confirmed supply of critical material to the refinery.

“This shut down was executed in a control procedure to ensure that proper mitigations were done such that our community and environment was not affected,” said Sapref.

#durbanisburning |Most petrol stations are closed. The few that are open are guarded by residents or there are snaking queues. pic.twitter.com/hWgRuMyu5u

— Nokukhanya Mntambo (@khanya_mntambo) July 14, 2021

“Plans to start up the refinery will be communicated once the situation allows us to.”

According to Sapref’s website, it is the largest refinery in South Africa and makes up 35% of its refining capacity.

In other news – Video: Ndlovu Youth Choir sings for peace in Mzansi

The choir, that rose to fame when it entered America’s Got Talent in 2019, shared a video singing amid protests and looting in the country.

The group sang its rendition of Mangisondele Nkosi Yam and posted it on its social media pages. Learn more

Source: mybroadband