Unplanned refinery shutdown causes delays in fuel delivery to Cape Town

CAPE TOWN – An unplanned shutdown at the Astron Energy Refinery in Milnerton caused delays in the delivery of fuel to fuel stations in Cape Town this week.

Several petrol stations in and around Cape Town were short on fuel, prompting motorists to head out of town to fill up.

The Fuel Industry Association of South Africa’s head of security of supply, Siganeko Magafela, said the reason for the unplanned shutdown had not yet been established.

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“What we’ve managed to find out is that there was indeed a shortage of fuel or some retail stations around Cape Town, and that’s what our members have been reporting. Turnout isn’t affected at the same time because some companies have their own ways of bringing in fuel if there is a shortage in Cape Town,” Magafela said.

Magafela said the refinery is now operational.

“Generally, the Atron refinery has been stable since it came back, and also Cape Town has a port where we can import volumes. I mean, if you remember at the time when the refinery was down, we didn’t have much .of that because we were importing fuel into the country, so Cape Town is the only place in South Africa that has an alternative in terms of supply in the region,” he said.

Magafela said the backlog in the delivery of fuel orders should be cleared by Friday.