Petrol rationing and lower speed limits – What happened during South Africa’s last fuel crisis

South Africa is facing enormous fuel price hikes and possible shortages next month, but this is not the first time the country has faced a crisis like this.

The last time South Africa was confronted with fuel shortages, the government imposed a number of extraordinary measures to limit the consumption of petrol and diesel.

This included shorter petrol station trading hours, limiting the amount of fuel individuals could purchase and transport in containers, and reducing national speed limits.

Right now, there are growing concerns over possible fuel shortages stemming from the conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran in the Middle East.

The war has resulted in widespread disruptions to the production and shipping of oil in the region.

The Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping lane that connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, has effectively been closed by Iran. This waterway typically sees the outflow of roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil supply.

South Africa’s largest crude oil supplier is Nigeria, but our local refining capacity is unable to produce even half of the country’s demand.

The rest of South Africa’s petroleum products come from the Middle East, sourced from Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

South Africa also imports petroleum from India, but India gets most of its crude oil from the Gulf States.

Earlier this month, the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources released a statement, assuring motorists that South Africa’s fuel supplies are secure until early April.

However, fuel shortages have already been reported in smaller cities and rural areas. The agricultural sector, in particular, has been hit hard by diesel restrictions.

How South Africa responded to fuel shortages in the past

South Africa’s last major fuel shortage crisis occurred between 1973 and 1974, when the Middle East was plunged into conflict.

The Yom Kippur War, which began on 6 October, 1973, was a period in which multiple Arab states led by Egypt and Syria launched attacks against Israel.

Arab members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut oil production by 5% and threatened to embargo oil to Israel’s allies, which included South Africa.

This took effect in November 1973 when foreign ministers from 38 pro-liberation African countries voiced their support for embargos on Israel, Portugal, South Africa, and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe).

As a result, South Africa was forced to implement fuel-saving measures, starting with shorter operating times for forecourts, according to MyBroadband.

Petrol stations were only allowed to operate between 06h00 and 18h00 on weekdays, and were closed on weekends.

Another fuel station restriction barred motorists from bulk-buying petrol and diesel. Customers were limited to five litres of fuel in separate purchasable containers on weekdays.

On Fridays, the limit was increased to 10 litres to account for weekend travel, since all petrol stations would be closed.

Additionally, the government temporarily lowered the maximum speed limit on freeways from 120km/h to 80km/h to reduce fuel usage.

In urban areas, the limit was reduced even further to 60km/h.

While extreme, these measures were generally accepted by the public, who acknowledged the seriousness of the situation and followed efforts to reduce fuel consumption.

Motorists were even shamed by their neighbours for driving gaz-guzzling models, causing the value of muscle cars and similar vehicles to plummet as everyone traded in their wheels for more frugal options.

The OPEC embargo came to an end in March 1974 after the global price of oil had surged nearly 300% from $3 per barrel to $12 per barrel.

The experience prompted South Africa to invest in its petroleum industry to prevent a similar crisis in the future, leading to the expansion of refinery capacity through the Sasol II and Sasol III coal-to-liquid operations in 1974 and 1979, respectively.

While oil exploration efforts were largely unsuccessful, the government did expand its oil reserve capacity via the Strategic Fuel Fund, which stored fuel in disused coal mines and underground tanks.

These efforts allowed South Africa to weather similar fuel shortages in the 1980s caused by anti-Apartheid trade sanctions.

The country’s gold mining sector also generated a substantial amount of foreign currency, which was used to secretly purchase oil from suppliers willing to trade with sanctioned markets.