Warning for anyone with a driver’s licence, and R30 per litre petrol in South Africa

Convenience stores are becoming the main driver of business at Engen’s forecourts thanks to a successful partnership with Woolworths.

Engen entered into an agreement with the supermarket chain back in 2000 to feature Woolworths Foodstops at its petrol stations.

The stores were created to offer 24-hour access to a range of popular Woolworths goods. The partnership has been so successful that just over 100 locations have opened in South Africa as of 2026.

Oil rose for a second day this week following the closure of a vital oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia. Brent Crude is now trading at $107 per barrel.

Saudi Aramco closed its pipeline due to attacks launched by the Iranian-backed Houthis. It is expected to be offline for weeks.

Tehran said it would not enter talks with Washington until its conditions were met. US forces are attempting to block Iran’s ports to put economic pressure on the Islamic Republic.

The rand’s value dropped to R16.31 per US dollar on Monday due to the higher oil price.

5 important things

One-week warning for anyone with a driver’s licence in South Africa: The 30-day comment period on the proposal to extend the validity of driver’s licence cards closes this week. If approved, the validity period will increase from 5 to 10 years. [TopAuto]

R30 per litre petrol prices in South Africa: New data from the Central Energy Fund indicates that South Africa will experience an under-recovery of R2.29 per litre for petrol, which would push petrol above R29 per litre in October. [BusinessTech]

Uber is illegal in South Africa: The country’s largest e-hailing service has been operating without a legally required registration certificate for nearly six months. Under the National Land Transport Amendment Act, Uber is required to have a registration certificate. It only submitted an application in February, less than a month before the deadline. [MyBroadband].

South Africa wasted R76 billion on expensive petrol and diesel: Between 2021 and 2024, South Africa spent R19 billion per year in avoidable import costs for refined petroleum products. South Africa’s domestic oil production has collapsed due to the loss of multiple refineries, making the country highly dependent on imported oil that it used to avoid. [Daily Investor].

Oil tankers making R16 million per day thanks to Iran war: The conflict in the Middle East has led to an oil tanker shortage as many are unwilling to traverse the Strait of Hormuz, raising the cost of hiring one to $1 million per day for the first time ever. [Bloomberg].