South Africa: Fuel Runs Dry in Nelson Mandela Bay

20 March 2026
Scrolla (Johannesburg)
By Dylan Bettencourt
  • Petroleum companies have started limiting fuel in Nelson Mandela Bay, blaming the Gulf war for putting local supplies at risk.
  • Oil companies are now charging surcharges on normal prices, from 5c per litre for petrol to around R10 per litre for paraffin.

Fuel stations in Nelson Mandela Bay are running out of stock by about 2pm every day.

The trouble started earlier this month. Petroleum companies began releasing less fuel than normal, blaming the Gulf war for putting supplies at risk.

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Johan du Plessis, MD of PE Fuels Group and owner of the Engen Truck Stop in Swartkops, said the cut hit fast.

"We would go to the gantry requesting a certain amount of fuel and they would give us much less," he said, TimesLive reported.

Du Plessis said most big oil companies had started rationing fuel. Retail stations were also having to cap how much they sell per customer.

Prices have gone up too. Surcharges on petrol range from 5c to over R4 per litre, 20c to over R8 per litre for diesel, and up to R10 per litre for paraffin.

Du Plessis said the rationing may also be linked to anticipated fuel price increases on 1 April.

A list on social media showed 27 fuel stations across South Africa already out of stock.

Mineral and petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe told a conference this week that big fuel price increases were increasingly unavoidable because of the war.

DA spokesperson James Lorimer said Mantashe had dodged questions about whether the legally required two-month fuel reserve was being maintained.

Freedom Front Plus (FF+) MP Wynand Boshoff said his party had received warning letters from fuel suppliers.

"The minister says we have enough fuel. Where is it?" he said.

Boshoff warned that shortages could lead to food shortages in vulnerable communities. South Africa gets only 30% of its fuel from Sasol locally, Boshoff said.

Sasol said it was still supplying the Eastern Cape with around six-million litres a month and does not import fuel from the Middle East.

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