South Africa’s crude oil stockpile facility in Saldanha on the Cape west coast this morning remains conspicuously quiet after it was reported yesterday that the Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) will soon receive two million barrels of Russian oil for safekeeping.
This has emerged after it was confirmed that a 330-metre tanker, the Elandra Denali, is currently making its way south off the West African coast after loading its transhipped cargo at the Port of Ceuta on April 26.
The shipment of crude had apparently been loaded on April 8 at Russia’s Black Sea Port of Novorossiysk.
This morning vessel tracking located the Elandra Denali off Guinea’s capital of Conakry, travelling at 11.9 knots (23.8 km/h) and expected to arrive in Saldanha this coming Sunday.
News of the bulk load heading to the SFF, a Central Energy Fund subsidiary, has drawn sharp criticism from various quarters, mostly aligned along one common sentiment – that it’s yet more proof of the ANC government’s support of Russia at a time it’s facing industry-crippling sanctions because of its war in Ukraine.
The growing pariah position in which the government of Vladimir Putin finds itself has resulted in the wholesale freezing out of crucial trades from Russia – primarily energy export – but South Africa is still prevaricating about its stance on the conflict.
Industry experts have said that the load will most likely be stored until Russia finds a buyer for the oil.
Since the escalation of trade embargoes against Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine, a development it prefers to call a “special military operation” as opposed to a war, it is finding it increasing difficult to find markets for its most important export commodities – oil and gas.
It has been reported that its seaborne exports of oil alone have fallen by 14%.
It is also not the first time that the SFF, an apartheid-era facility formed to protect the National Party government against oil sanctions, has found itself in the spotlight for alleged shady operations.
In 2015/6, then minister of energy Tina Joemat-Pettersson was exposed for a deal where 10.3 million barrels of stockpiled oil was offered for sale at $28 million, $10 million lower than the market price at the time.
As with the SFF, mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe’s department has not responded to questions about the Russian shipment making its way to Saldanha, the Sunday Times reported.
This is despite South Africa’s blatant non-alignment with the global sanctions squeeze against Russia.
