The Fuel Industry Association of South Africa (FIASA) has confirmed that fuel imports for the period from April to June will increasingly be sourced from regions outside of the Gulf and that there is also daily monitoring of stock levels and vessel movements to ensure ongoing security of supply.

CEO Avhapfani Tshifularo tells Engineering News that various actions are being taken in response to the disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the damage to energy infrastructure in the Gulf region.

He reports that the domestic fuels industry has implemented coordinated, short‑term security‑of‑supply responses focusing on logistics, diversification, and stock management, including:

• Forward‑securing of import cargoes for April to June 2026, with shipments increasingly sourced outside the Arabian Gulf, including West Africa, the Atlantic Basin and Asia;
• Tight daily monitoring of stock levels and vessel movements at a national level, coordinated with the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) and Transnet; and
• Close coordination with government through emergency forums to avoid panic‑driven buying and ensure equitable distribution.

“FIASA has repeatedly stated that the risk is logistics – and price‑driven – not an absolute absence of fuel molecules, but that the disruption could become protracted if the Hormuz instability persists,” Tshifularo adds.

He also confirms that current sourcing of refined fuels (including diesel, petrol and jet fuel) is from the Middle East, India, Singapore, and increasingly the Atlantic Basin, while crude is being sourced from Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, Saudi Arabia and Brazil.

In a separate interview, DMPR deputy director-general for mineral and petroleum regulation Tseliso Maqubela has confirmed a dramatic shift in South Africa’s sources of supply towards the Atlantic Basin, with fuel being secured not only from traditional European suppliers but also Brazil, Mexico and the US.

Maqubela reports that the department is, therefore, reviewing the Basic Fuel Price (BFP) formula for diesel, and is considering changes to align the BFP to the new sources of supply, with the current formula heavily weighted to reference markets in the Gulf region.

This, he says, should ensure that the cost of importing diesel from the new source markets is more accurately reflected and could in turn help address the pricing mismatch that is motivating some wholesalers to implement diesel surcharges.

Tshifularo confirms, meanwhile, that South Africa is not facing any supply constraints in the area of jet fuel, indicating that domestic refineries have played an important role in complementing the supply of jet fuel.

He has refrained from commenting on what other policy actions the industry is proposing to government to help soften the impact of higher prices on consumers and the economy.

In April, government announced a temporary R3/l reduction in the general fuel levy and confirmed the creation of a Cabinet task team to assess immediate and more medium-term responses to the crisis.

There is growing concern about the price of diesel, which Tshifularo says is more affected than other fuels, as the global diesel price is trading at high levels and its availability is constrained.

“There are measures being considered, but the government will announce its decisions when they are finalised,” Tshifularo says.

“In the short term, the fuel levy decision is welcomed and, in the mid-term, the country needs strategic stocks for finished products,” he adds, noting that there is currently no buffer stock.

Maqubela says that government is aware that the current storage capacity for final product is insufficient and reports that it is assessing what should be held as commercial stocks by the fuel industry, what government should hold in addition, and how those costs should be recouped.