SA's Biggest Oil Refinery Shuts Down Amidst Ongoing Violent Protests
- The Shell and BP joint venture says the company will temporarily shut down due to ongoing violent protests in the KwaZulu-Natal province
- The company says they are concerned about the safety of their employees and will continue to assess the situation
- The violent protests have affected KwaZulu-Natal's supply routes, limiting their ability to continue operations
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SAPREF, South Africa's largest crude oil refinery, announced on Tuesday that it was temporarily closing down and declaring force majeure on contracts.
This announcement comes after violent protests broke out in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng as a response to the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma. The protests led to widespread looting, destruction of infrastructure and theft.
Source: Getty Images
SAPREF, a Shell and BP joint venture wrote a letter to its clients stating that the company is forced to shut down, reports Daily Maverick.
"In the case of a complete shut down of the refinery, the continuation of your agreement with SAPREF on the same terms and conditions becomes impossible," wrote SAPREF.
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“As a result of the aforegoing, Sapref hereby declares the occurrence of an event of force majeure, excusing Sapref from performing under the agreement,” wrote SAPREF.
SAPREF stated that due to ongoing unrest in KwaZulu-Natal, supply routes in and out of the province have been disrupted. The disruption of supply routes means the company does not have access to critical materials to continue operations.
The company added that there were safety concerns for their employees and possible damage to their vehicles according to TimesLIVE.
Hlengiwe Hlela, Sapref's sustainable development manager said SAPREF's decision was not taken lightly and the company took careful considerations of the risks involved in continuing operations.
The company stated that they will inform their clients with further information in regard to the closing down of operations and the implications of the shut down.
Livelihoods lost: Sad post shows destruction looting caused to small businesses
Briefly News reported that many small and black-owned businesses have been negatively affected by the surge in looting action across the country. As the instances of blatant criminality become more frequent so too are these devastating acts being caught on camera.
Heading online, @thalith49675954 first shared a post documenting the gruelling experiences of business owners in the aftermath of the looting. Briefly News also compiled a few more tweets displaying the difficult situation.
@Amu_J said:
"A black dentist lost his private practice simple like this....And its normal and okay to you, cos people are hungry?"
@SkepeMatsebane said:
"Lucky Lekgwathi's restaurant is not even three months old. Now is in complete and utter ruin. Tomorrow when he's struggling, the same people who ruined his business and his livelihood will say he wasted his money when he was playing football."
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Source: Briefly News
