Adulterated diesel is becoming more popular in South Africa amid growing concerns about the skyrocketing cost of fuel and possible shortages.
Often referred to as “dirty diesel,” adulteration occurs when fuel sellers mix diesel with cheaper substances, such as paraffin, kerosene, or lubricating oil.
This allows unscrupulous retailers to dilute their diesel while charging the full amount to unsuspecting customers, letting them pocket the difference.
This illegal practice can cause a world of issues for motorists down the line, as modern engines are designed to run on clean, high quality fuel.
Diesel that has been diluted with paraffin does not burn cleanly, leading to increased emissions and toxic fumes.
Additionally, the fuel does not combust as intended, and critical components like the fuel pump and injectors are likely to be damaged.
ESG Analytics economist Sifiso Skenjana warned that this is a growing issue in South Africa, with hundreds of petrol stations involved in adulterating fuel.
This is despite the government’s efforts to curb the practice and its promises to enforce fuel regulations on sellers.
In an interview with 702, Skenjana explained that the surging diesel price means there is a greater incentive for sellers to engage in adulteration, since there is the potential for massive profits.
“The government has been looking at regulations surrounding diesel, specifically in recent years, because of the fact that people are pricing it differently,” Skenjana said.
“This is opening the window for illicit trade because people are finding ways to mix the diesel with other fuels to make dirty diesel.”
Paraffin is the most common substitute since it is widely available and the way its price is regulated makes it quite affordable compared to other fuels.
Skenjana noted that this is a side effect of the government’s attempts to reduce the significant variance in paraffin pricing that existed in the past.
“The first promise from the government came around the paraffin issue, because every time the fuel price rose, there was a disproportionate rise in paraffin prices,” Skenajana explained.
“The uses of paraffin are mostly among the lower-income earners in the economy, and so there was a significant question around the pricing of paraffin, which the government acted on.”
Paraffin is, therefore, relatively cheap because it is not subject to the same taxes and levies applied to other fuels.
Dirty diesel problem getting worse
Skenjana said that the sale of contaminated diesel is getting worse in South Africa, highlighting data from Bidvest Protea Coin that identified more than 100 suspected illicit fuel depots across the country.
Bidvest Protea Coin COO Waal de Waal told eNCA that this data was collected by the company’s helicopter surveillance team over the past few months, during flights across several provinces.
“Mixing and blending have been around for years, but on a very small scale. But these days, it’s just getting out of hand,” De Waal said.
He said the issue is due to the significant price difference between diesel and paraffin, which has persisted in recent years.
Even though the gap is smaller than it once was, the energy shock caused by the war in the Middle East means there is a golden opportunity for sellers to take advantage of the high diesel price.
At the same time, paraffin is widely available in South Africa, making it easy to mix the fuels to sell to unsuspecting motorists.
“Paraffin in this country can’t be sold without a marker. It’s called an A1 marker specifically for a reason so that SARS and the DMRE can monitor,” De Waal said.
It’s relatively easy for criminals to remove the identifying markers from paraffin, enabling it to be blended with diesel.
There is also a lack of equipment that enables SARS and other enforcement agencies to identity the marker in paraffin, meaning there’s little risk of sellers being detected.
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