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SA will carry out an urgent assessment of the supply of petroleum products, the department of mineral resources and energy said on Saturday after the country’s second-largest crude oil refinery closed after a fire and an explosion.
The 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) Engen refinery in Durban, majority owned by Petronas of Malaysia, ceased operations when investigations into the cause of the fire began on Friday.
Engen said it was taking steps to ensure security of supply.
The South African Petroleum Industry Association (Sapia) warned in May that the country was facing a diesel shortage due to an increase in demand as movement restrictions eased.
SA is a net importer of crude oil and petroleum products, with the local market consuming 11.14 million liters of gasoline and 12.53 million liters of diesel in 2018, according to Sapia.
In July, the country’s third-largest crude refinery, Astron Energy’s 100,000 bpd plant in Cape Town, was hit by an explosion that killed two people and injured several more.
The plant remains out of service.
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