Insights

4 Things You Should Know About How Diesel and Petrol is Supplied in South Africa

(Video Transcript)

First, a quick global understanding of where fuel comes from...

Well, all fuel comes from the sun and you may ask how? The sun’s heat radiates down on earth and through photosynthesis, is converted into energy which plants and trees use to grow.

Over time, as plants and other living organisms die, they form organic sediment in the soil. With continued exposure to pressure and heat, this sediment can convert to coal, oil and gas, which can in turn be converted to diesel and petrol through a distillation process at refineries.

So what are the 4 things that you should know about how diesel and petrol is supplied in South Africa?

1) South Africa is a net importer of fuel, meaning that over and above what can locally be produced, South Africa needs to import additional finished product (i.e. diesel and petrol) in order to satisfy domestic demand.

2) Local fuel Production comes from a total of 6 refineries, which supports South Africa’s 25 billion litre per annum energy demand:

Of the 6 refineries nationwide, the following 4, produce fuel from imported crude oil:

• 1 in Free State
• 2 in Durban
• 1 in Cape Town

The 2 other refineries, which have a different production process are:

• 1 coal to liquids refinery in Secunda
• 1 gas to liquids refinery in Mosselbay.

3) Diesel and petrol imports into Durban, as well as fuel produced at Durban refineries, are, in part, piped to Gauteng through various (mostly underground) pipelines in support of Gauteng’s demand, representing 65% of national demand.

4) Diesel and Petrol is also imported into South Africa through various ports, for example:

• Cape Town
• Richard’s Bay
• Mozambique’s Matola

South Africa has a bit of a mixed bag in terms of how its market is supplied. This diversity has some positives to it, but South Africa does rely quite heavily on older refining infrastructure for the bulk of its supply.

When one thinks about it, despite great and important strides in renewable energy, still not much economic activity can happen in South Africa and many other parts of the world without fossil fuels. For example:

• Mining cannot be accomplished.
• Goods cannot be transported.
• People cannot get to around.

Remember, “Small remains the hole that is dug without diesel”.