May 29, 2025
South Africa is expected to import nearly 16 million tons of petroleum products
South Africa, one of the wealthiest countries in Africa, relies on oil imports to meet its fuel demand despite having the ability to produce more.
According to Business Insider, South Africa relies on imports to meet 60% of its oil demand. South Africa has already imported an estimated 4.2 million tons of refined petroleum products in the first quarter of 2025. At its current rate, South Africa is expected to import nearly 16 million tons of petroleum products for the year. These estimates are double Kenya’s estimated 8.9 million tons a year and more than Nigeria’s 6.4 million tons a year.
Imports are up in South Africa because the main refineries are down. Underinvestment and accidents are contributing factors. Sapref, owned by the Central Energy Fund, is South Africa’s largest refinery, but it’s shut down. The closure ultimately results in an estimated 180,000 barrels being taken out of production daily. Engen, owned by Vitol, is also shut, taking 120,000 barrels out of production daily.
How South Africa Is Trying To Revive Its Energy Sector
According to Reuters, South Africa’s current strategic crude reserves are estimated at roughly 7.7 million barrels.
According to Oil Price reports, country leaders recently launched the South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC), a new state-owned oil company designed to consolidate and revitalize the sector that has stalled over the last five years.
Leaders hope the new oil enterprise will reduce the number of imports, which will also boost the economy and bolster energy security.
The move to create SANPC also comes months after South Africa allowed several of its coal-fired plants to exceed emissions limits to avoid more blackouts.
Rolling blackouts, or load shedding, are a way of life for many South Africans. It’s a planned power outage in specific areas for a set period when electricity demand exceeds supply, preventing the entire power grid from collapsing.
Aging and failing power stations and supply shortages at power plants, including fuel, contribute to these blackouts, according to Ecoflow.
