The fuel woes of Cape Town motorists will soon be history, as the Fuel Retailers Association has given the assurance that fuel service stations are currently being topped up on petrol and diesel.
The fuel shortage was caused by an “operational upset” at Astron Energy’s refinery, the country’s only coastal refinery. The issue has since been resolved.
The situation over the past five days has led to the frustration of many road users who’ve had to drive from suburb to suburb to fill up, when fuel pumps ran dry.
@Shell Various petrol stations in #CapeTown are reporting to NOT HAVE PETROL – can you confirm what is going on? I can go elsewhere but when will they be sorted?
— 🇿🇦 medicnick83 🇿🇦 (@medicnick83) October 20, 2024
The Head of Security of Fuel Supply at the Fuel Retailers Association of South Africa, Siganeko Magafela explained that everything should be back on track by the end of this week.
READ MORE: Cape Town motorists vent their fuel shortage frustrations
“90% of all the oil companies in Cape Town are supplied by the Astron refinery, so if there is an upset there then it affects almost everyone. It has been resolved. It is now fully online. Stock is available and companies are just clearing the backlog of orders they had, so there is currently no shortage,” said Magafela.
Additionally, Magafela said it should be business as usual again by the end of this week.
“Let’s say by the end of Friday, latest, we should be up to date with the orders,” said Magafela.
The FRA is confident that road users will never be confronted with this situation again.
“We will not because this is just an isolated case, which was resolved. In terms of supply, people should not be worried,” said Magafela.
He concluded by saying that there is more than enough supply to ‘fuel’ the Western Cape for the coming festive season and the start of 2025.
