Singapore-based Petredec, one of the world’s biggest traders, providers and distributors of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), has acquired Quest Petroleum, a fuels distributor and retailer in the Eastern Cape.
This is Petredec’s third acquisition in South Africa’s liquid fuels and gas sector in the last 18 months. In addition, the group partnered with Bidvest Tank Terminals to build a R1-billion LPG storage facility at Richards Bay, which was commissioned last October.
According to Lee Furby, MD of Petredec SA, the group sees potential for growth in South Africa and the region. This is despite the poor state of SA’s economy and the fact that energy demand from the transport sector is expected to grow at less than half the rate of the previous 20 years, as improvements in vehicle efficiency accelerate.
Illegal fuel retail is a problem - DMRE
By Given Majola
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DURBAN - The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) yesterday confirmed that non-compliance with the Petroleum Products Act (PPA) was rampant in the countryâs fuel retailing sector, but it was collaborating with petroleum industry stakeholders to enforce the law.
The Fuel Retailers Association of Southern Africa (FRA) has said that it was seeing an alarming growth in illegal fuel trading, which was impacting fuel retailers, already struggling with the disruption caused by Covid-19.
The department said it had received reports of non-compliance with the PPA or of illegal and illicit fuel trading that manifested in various forms, including some wholesalers operating as retailers (dual operations), sites being developed without a licence and/or operating without a licence, the sale of inferior-quality petrol and diesel, the sale of ULP 93 at the price of ULP 95 to unsuspecting retailers and motorists (par
The future of fuel retailing is bleak if the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy does not take drastic and immediate action to curb illegal fuel trading from wholesalers, the Fuel Retailers Association of Southern Africa said. Picture: Jacques Naude/African News Agency (ANA)
Fuel retailers say outlook is bleak
By Given Majola
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DURBAN - THE FUTURE of fuel retailing is bleak if the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy does not take drastic and immediate action to curb illegal fuel trading from wholesalers, the Fuel Retailers Association of Southern Africa (FRA) said.
FRA chief executive Reggie Sibiya said in an interview that the alarming growth in illegal trading and conditional selling was a major concern, as wholesalers that were trading illegally were taking away volumes from fuel retailers.
But, not so fast! If you consider the fuel price, you’d think that the price at the pump is largely based on the price of Brent Crude and the exchange rate. Well, it is. And it isn’t. Based on latest numbers by the department of energy, the basic fuel price in December for 95-octane unleaded is about R4,79 per litre. By comparison, the price of inland 95-octane unleaded was R14,46 in December. What gives? Considering the disproportionate impact of transport costs on the poor, South Africans should be outraged at our fuel prices, which not only have a direct impact on business and consumers, but also a secondary impact on the price of just about every other good or service.