ACSA says jet fuel supplies stable despite refinery disruption

Airports Company South Africa moved to reassure the public and airlines on Friday, August 28, that jet fuel supplies remain stable and flights are operating normally across its network, following an unplanned shutdown at Sasol's Natref refinery that disrupted deliveries to the country's busiest airport. The state-owned operator emphasized that O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg has between five and six days of jet fuel stock available, sufficient to meet average daily demand of about 3,850 cubic metres. The disruption began earlier in the week after a steam boiler failure on Tuesday, August 25, caused damage to a downstream unit at the National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa (Natref) refinery near Sasolburg. Sasol confirmed the outage affected its ability to meet full supply commitments for some products, including jet fuel supplied to customers at O.R. Tambo. The company said it would continue partially supplying those customers while working to restore normal operations. Natref, South Africa's only inland crude oil refinery, supplies between 70% and 80% of O.R.