BP said on Thursday petrol pumps had started running dry at some of its outlets on the fourth day of a multi-industry strike, as South Africa’s largest oil refinery faced a possible shutdown.
BP spokesperson Zipporah Mothoa said delivery of stocks to petrol outlets had been ”gravely impacted” because workers in the distribution chain were on strike.
”Stocks are out in various outlets around the country,” she said, but could not say how many outlets were affected.
At Sapref, South Africa’s largest oil refinery owned jointly by Shell and BP, an industry official who declined to be named said talks were going on between management and union officials and that a decision may be taken later in the day whether to shut the plant or not.
Sapref, which produces 180 000 barrels per day (BPD), said: ”At this time the Sapref refinery is operating normally. We will advise if this situation changes in the near future.”
The strike, by the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers’ Union (Ceppwawu), has already shut down one refinery, partially hobbled another and disrupted output at pharmaceutical and packaging companies.
A union official said a shutdown was expected at Sapref. ”It takes about 48 hours to shut down such a plant; I know from the union representatives there that they have started those procedures,” said Keith Jacobs, deputy secretary general of Ceppwawu.
State-owned PetroSA shut its 36 000bpd Mossel Bay gas-to-liquid plant on Tuesday, saying it had stocks for the next three weeks. US oil major Chevron’s 100 000bpd refinery in Cape Town has said some of its workers were on strike but that operations were normal.
Other petrol refiners in Africa’s biggest economy include Sasol, the world’s biggest coal-to-fuels maker and petrochemical group which runs a 107 000bpd Natref refinery, and Engen, which operates the 180 000bpd refinery in Durban.
Jacobs said the Sasol plant had not been affected yet.
Africa’s top generic drug maker Aspen; rival Adcock Ingram, a unit of Tiger Brands; the continent’s biggest packaging group Nampak; US-based hygiene group Kimberley-Clarke; and glass firm Consol among other smaller companies have been hit, Ceppwawu has said.
Jacobs said the pharmaceuticals companies had called the union to a meeting on Thursday to try to end the impasse.
The union has said the strike would continue until its wage demands were met.
Employers from the various sectors were offering wage increases ranging from 6,5% to 8%, but the union has demanded a 10% wage increase. –Reuters