Sapref prepares for Durban refinery restart following force majeure

Quantum Commodity Intelligence – Shell and BP South African Petroleum Refineries (Sapref), responsible for 35% of South Africa's refinery capacity, announced it will restart its Durban plant Wednesday after declaring a force majeure last week due to the unrest in the city, the company said in a statement.

The startup process is set to begin on 21 July and will take seven to ten days to complete.

Sapref managing director Victor Bester said plans were in place to ensure a safe startup "with little impact to our neighbouring communities."

The Durban refinery, the largest in the country, refines around 180,000 barrels per day of crude, supplying 2.7 billion litres of petrol per year.

While the refinery itself was unaffected, the widespread disorder in the city impacted supply routes leading to the shutdown last week.

"Sapref made the decision to safely shut down the refinery when key materials to continue running the facility could not be delivered owing to supply chain disruptions caused by the civil unrest," Sapref said in a statement.

The South African Automobile Association has called on South Africans to limit all non-essential travel as road transport comes under pressure from unrest and the spectre of fuel shortages.

The Association said it advises motorists to avoid unnecessary journeys and to buy no more fuel than necessary, to preserve current stocks for essential and emergency services.