Page 9 - AfrOil Week 49 2021

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South Africa’s fuel prices reach

record high ahead of travel season

SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH African fuel prices reached record high than the market can supply. The US and other
levels on Wednesday, December 1. major oil consumers are co-ordinating efforts
Prices in South Africa’s economic hub prov- to try to lower high prices by releasing oil from
ince of Gauteng broke through the ZAR20 per their inventory stocks, while OPEC and non-
litre level in the province on that day. Fuel prices OPEC members are refusing to increase oil pro-
are regulated and set by the government in duction to match the global recovery demand.”
South Africa. Local fuel prices are determined The release of millions of barrels of oil from
by international oil prices – as well as the dollar/ the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) by the
rand value, as South Africa buys oil in dollars. US government has done little to dampen the
Economists have warned that the fuel hike oil prices, it noted.
will put pressure on South Africa’s inflation rate, The latest fuel price hike comes ahead of
and is likely to result in much higher food prices. South Africa’s key travel season. “It is important
South Africa’s Department of Energy had to appreciate that fuel prices are soaring world-
announced previously that the petrol price wide due to persistently high crude oil prices,”
would be hiked by ZAR0.81 per litre on Decem- the department said. “Record pump prices have
ber, with diesel going up by between ZAR0.73 been experienced in many other countries.” ™
a litre.
The latest price hike has pushed the price
of petrol – currently around ZAR19.50 a litre -
to above ZAR20 in Gauteng and other inland
provinces. At the start of November, petrol
prices were also raised by ZAR1.21, while diesel
increased by ZAR1.48.
The latest fuel price hikes are due in large part
to a sharp fall in the rand against the US dollar,
which averaged at ZAR15.85 per dollar over
the past month, against ZAR14.72 the previous
month. The average oil price also increased from
$82.50 a barrel to $83.
“The key driver [of the higher oil price] is the
higher global demand recovery amid a weaker
supply response from non-OPEC and other
oil producers,” the Department of Mineral
Resources and Energy explained in a statement.
“There is a mismatch between demand and sup-
ply – i.e., there is more demand for oil products Fuel prices went up ahead of South Africa’s main travel season (Photo: Wikimedia)

NGO challenging UK government in

court over Mozambique gas project

MOZAMBIQUE ENVIRONMENTAL pressure group Friends of QC, Kate Cook and Anita Davies from Matrix
the Earth (FoE) was due to have a High Court Chambers. It has outlined details of its argument
hearing in London on Tuesday, December 7, against the UK Export Fund (UKEF) in a state-
challenging the legality of the UK government’s ment published on December 3.
decision to invest $1.15bn in a gas project in The suit concerns the $20bn Mozambique
northern Mozambique. LNG project led by TotalEnergies (France).
FoE is being represented by the law firm According to FoE, the project will create 4.3bn
Leigh Day, as well as barristers Jessica Simor tonnes of combusted emissions.

Week 49 08•December•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9