It is expected that the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to negatively affect liquid fuels demand in the short term, but whether this represents a long-term structural shift is not yet clear, says South African Petroleum Industry Association (Sapia) executive director Avhapfani Tshifularo.
Before the pandemic, South Africa was a net importer of petrol and diesel, but Tshifularo believes that, in the short term, South Africa will become somewhat self-sufficient in terms of fuels production as a consequence of this reduced demand if all refineries are operational.
“The setback of the incident at the Astron Energy oil refinery in Cape Town in July does, however, mean that South Africa will remain a net importer due to the loss of this production capacity,” he explains.
Astron Energy spokesperson Suzanne Pullinger said in a media statement that the incident did not pose a threat to fuel supply, and that the rest of the plant remained in a stable, operational condition.
“If the economy picks up following incentive packages from government and the call to rebuild the economy, the structural shift is likely to cause Oil prices dropped for a second straight session on Monday as U.S. producers began restoring output after Hurricane Delta weakened, while a strike that had affected production in Norway came to an end.
Brent crude for December fell 55 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to $42.30 a barrel by 0023 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate for November was at $40.08 a barrel, down 52 cents, or 1.3 per cent.
Front-month prices for both contracts gained more than 9 per cent last week, the biggest ..
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