It was South Africa’s biggest oil refinery until it was temporarily closed in 2022 after being damaged by floods in Durban.
The sale of the South African Petroleum Refinery , jointly owned by multinational energy companies BP and Shell, to the state-owned Central Energy Fund for R1 raises questions about whether the company is evading its social and environmental liabilities.
Selling the refinery to the South African government, instead of decommissioning it, suggests that Sapref will not be held accountable for historical environmental liabilities and social injustices. I am an environmental scientist who has researched the governance of industrial risk and pollution in South Durban, the location of the refinery. I believe that Sapref should have decommissioned its refinery properly in consultation with local communities.In March 2022, Sapref closed after severe floods washed hydrocarbons, the primary compound of petrol, out of the refinery and onto a nearby beach.
In 2002, after fresh oil pipeline leaks, Sapref had to agree to demands from the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance for an independent review of the condition of the pipelines. In 2017, the provincial government declared the area a pollution hot-spot in its Environment Outlook Report. Between 2010 and 2020, 61 serious pollution incidents and accidents in the area were documented, of which 48 emanated from Sapref and the rest from the neighbouring Engen refinery.The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act does not provide guidelines and directives on the issuance of closure certificates for refineries as it does for mining.
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