South Africa: Refinery Shutdowns Lead to Shortages
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Tuesday, 25 October 2011 |
Local gas supplier AFROX has revealed that it has run out of LPG in parts of the country as a result of unplanned refinery shutdowns. In a statement, the company said it has been unable to meet demand for product through importation. “We have always worked closely with our LPG suppliers but no one could have foreseen the extent of the unplanned shutdowns experienced by SA's petroleum industry,” said AFROX.
The company said that the hospitality, manufacturing and automotive sectors were affected by the shortage. “In some parts of the country we have totally run out of product with little prospect of recovering the situation in the immediate term, but Afrox continues to engage with all parties in an effort to find solutions for our customers. Even importing product has its difficulties, namely the costs involved, uncertain scheduling as it is imported by sea, and inland facilities in which to store the imported product ... are limited,” the statement added.
Unplanned refinery shutdowns have driven South Africa’s Government to consider greater port investment to import petroleum products, while the Department of Energy said the shutdowns were becoming a threat to security of supply. George Mnguni, acting Director-General of the Department, said that there was “clearly a need for a long-term solution to deal with ageing manufacturing infrastructure."
Petrolworld 25102011
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