DMRE probing 70 fuel stations for selling contaminated diesel

JOHANNESBURG - Seventy fuel stations across South Africa are being probed by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy for supplying watered-down diesel. 

Initial findings by the department’s annual fuel quality and monitoring programme for 2023 implicated the stations. 

Limpopo recorded the highest number of incidents, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and the North West. 

DMRE director for fuel pricing, Robert Maake explains: "During the period April to December last year, we found that 70 service stations were selling diesel that seemed to be contaminated with illuminating paraffin."

In respect of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, DMRE said they could not identify the stations implicated in their investigation. 

Maake said a compliance notice would be issued to each of the service stations implicated, where they were expected to respond within 14 days. 

"If they don’t respond within 14 days, they will be given a final notice, which also indicates they did respond and they will be given another 14 days. If they still do not respond, then the department will initiate the process to cancel their operational licence."