Sasol said an unplanned stoppage at its Natref refinery has curtailed jet-fuel supplies to South Africa’s busiest airport, prompting airlines to make contingency plans to avoid disruptions.
The outage of a downstream unit has affected Sasol’s ability to meet its full supply commitments for some fuel grades, the company said in a response to questions.
That includes jet fuel for customers at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport, one of Africa’s largest aviation hubs.
Sasol will continue to partially supply its jet-fuel customers at the airport and is implementing measures to minimize the impact, it said.
Natref is working to restore normal operations as soon as possible.
The Department of Energy convened an emergency meeting with Airports Company South Africa and the Fuels Industry Association of Southern Africa on Wednesday afternoon, the Airlines Association of Southern Africa said.
The disruption follows planned maintenance at the Natref refinery that was compounded by a technical problem, FlySafair said, citing its understanding of the situation.
The South African airline carries more than half of South Africa’s domestic passengers.
FlySafair said it has made arrangements to temporarily increase supplies from alternative providers to manage any shortfall.
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