KEY POINTS
- South Africa is shifting fuel imports away from the Arabian Gulf to alternative markets.
- The government is reviewing South Africa’s Basic Fuel Price formula amid the supply shift.
- Diesel remains the fuel of greatest concern as global prices and supply tighten further.
South Africa is actively redirecting its fuel imports away from the Arabian Gulf. Shipments covering April through June are increasingly coming from West Africa, the Atlantic Basin and Asia. The Fuel Industry Association of South Africa confirmed the shift, saying daily monitoring of stock levels and vessel movements is now underway to protect supply security.
The rerouting follows instability in the Strait of Hormuz and damage to energy infrastructure across the Gulf region. FIASA CEO Avhapfani Tshifularo said the industry has put in place coordinated short-term measures anchored on logistics, diversification and stock management.
“FIASA has repeatedly stated that the risk is logistics and price-driven, not an absolute absence of fuel molecules, but that the disruption could become protracted if the Hormuz instability persists,” Tshifularo said.
How South Africa is securing its fuel
The industry is forward-securing cargoes for the April-to-June window, shifting sourcing toward West Africa and the broader Atlantic Basin. Companies are coordinating closely with government through emergency forums to prevent panic buying and ensure equitable distribution. The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources and Transnet are both plugged into the daily monitoring effort.
South Africa currently sources refined fuel from the Middle East, India, Singapore and the Atlantic Basin. Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, Saudi Arabia and Brazil are supplying crude imports. Tshifularo confirmed there are no supply constraints in jet fuel, crediting domestic refineries with bridging gaps in that segment.
In a separate interview, DMPR Deputy Director-General Tseliso Maqubela said the Atlantic Basin shift has grown significant enough to push the department to review the Basic Fuel Price formula for diesel. The current BFP formula leans heavily on Gulf reference markets. The review aims to more accurately reflect the cost of importing from new source regions and could reduce the diesel surcharges some wholesalers have already imposed.
Diesel prices and the Buffer stock problem
Diesel is drawing the most concern. Tshifularo said global diesel prices are running high. Availability is tightening, leaving diesel more exposed than petrol or jet fuel.
Meanwhile, the government in April slashed the general fuel levy by R3 per liter. It also established a Cabinet task team to assess near-term and medium-term responses.
“In the short term, the fuel levy decision is welcomed. In the mid-term, the country needs strategic stocks for finished products,” Tshifularo said. South Africa currently holds no buffer stock of finished fuel.
Maqubela confirmed storage capacity is insufficient. The government is now assessing how to divide commercial and strategic stocks. It is also determining how those costs would be recovered across the supply chain.
