Unplanned refinery shutdown cause of fuel delivery delays in Cape Town

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

Several petrol stations in and around Cape Town were low on fuel supply, which resulted in motorists travelling out of the city to fill up.

The head of security of supply at the Fuels Industry Association of South Africa, Siganeko Magafela, said the reason for the unplanned shutdown has not yet been established.

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"What we managed to ascertain is that, indeed, there was a fuel shortage or some dry retail stations around Cape Town, and that is the fact that has been reported by our members. Membership is not affected at the same time because some companies have their own ways to bring in fuel if there's a shortage in Cape Town," said Magafela.

Magafela said the refinery is now operational.

"By and large, the Atron refinery has been stable since it came back, and also Cape Town has a port that we can import volumes into.  I mean, if you recall at the time when the refinery was down we did not have a lot of this 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 supplying into the region," he said.

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