We might not be allowed to go anywhere during the national lockdown, but when you do have to venture out to the fuel station soon, it might just bring a smile to your face. Globally destructive economic instability has pushed fuel prices into drastic retreat, leading to some very rare good news for South African motorists. This is according to the Automobile Association (AA), which was commenting on unaudited mid-month…

Oil inched higher as investors weigh whether a deal by the world’s biggest producers to reduce output will be enough to offset the demand destruction caused by the coronavirus. Futures added 0.6% in New York, on track for its first advance in three sessions. Saudi Arabia’s energy minister told reporters on Monday that the kingdom is ready to trim supply further if needed when the OPEC+ alliance meets again in…

The world’s top oil producers pulled off a historic deal to cut global petroleum output by nearly a 10th, putting an end to the devastating price war that brought the energy industry to its knees. After a week-long marathon of bilateral calls and video conferences of ministers from the OPEC+ alliance and the Group of 20 nations, an agreement finally emerged to tackle the impact of the pandemic on oil…

Production at Sasol's fuel refinery, Natref, will be suspended from Thursday due to an "unpredecented decline" in demand since the start of the national lockdown, the company announced on Wednesday. The inland crude oil refinery, located in Sasolburg, is operated in partnership with Total South Africa. The petrochemical group said it decided to suspend the production "until further notice". The comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa last month announced three-week national…

Production at Sasol's fuel refinery, Natref, will be suspended from Thursday due to an "unpredecented decline" in demand since the start of the national lockdown, the company announced on Wednesday. The inland crude oil refinery, located in Sasolburg, is operated in partnership with Total South Africa. The petrochemical group said it decided to suspend the production "until further notice". The comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa last month announced three-week national…

BASED on an unaudited mid-month fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund, The Automobile Association (AA) predicts a massive fuel drop at month end. This is despite weakness of the rand against the US Dollar and more due to the fact that international petroleum prices retreated. According to AA, petrol may go down by approximately R1.11 a litre, while diesel goes down by R1.10, and illuminating paraffin by…

Port Elizabeth police are warning petrol station owners and petrol attendants to be on the lookout for a gold-coloured VW Jetta, saying that the driver of the vehicle refuels without paying. According to police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu, two cases have been reported at the Humewood police station. "In the first case, on 1 March at about 11:49, the driver filled petrol for the amount of R50,33 at the Engen…

BASED on an unaudited mid-month fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund, The Automobile Association (AA) predicts a massive fuel drop at month end. This is despite weakness of the rand against the US Dollar and more due to the fact that international petroleum prices retreated. According to AA, petrol may go down by approximately R1.11 a litre, while diesel goes down by R1.10, and illuminating paraffin by…

Rating agency Moody’s has downgraded petrochemical company Sasol's corporate family rating to Ba2 from Ba1. Ba2 is the second notch of non-investment, or junk grade. "Sasol has been caught at the intersection of a series of credit negative developments, including a significant deterioration in the operating environment from a combination of the collapse in oil prices, widening impact of the coronavirus outbreak and weakening of South Africa's sovereign credit quality,"…

Oil slumped to a 17-year low as coronavirus lockdowns cascaded through the world’s largest economies, leaving the market overwhelmed by cratering demand and a ballooning surplus of crude. Futures in London fell as much as 7.6% to the lowest since November 2002, while New York crude briefly dipped below $20 a barrel. Physical oil markets are struggling to store fuel, hit by a double whammy of virus restrictions eroding demand…