Forecourt blues for petrol station owners as prices slump

CAPE TOWN – Plunging fuel prices, the result mainly of crashing global oil prices, and sharply lower sales as people have almost stopped driving in the lockdown, have left petrol station owners in dire financial straits.

The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy needed to intervene urgently to assist fuel retailers in financial distress, or many service stations would close, Fuel Retailers Association (FRA) executive director Reggie Sibiya said yesterday.

The retail margin to fuel service station owners is based on a fixed cents-a-litre formula determined by the government.

The FRA has pleaded with the oil companies to assist with dealing with next month’s anticipated fuel price decrease, said Sibiya.

Under the lockdown, service stations are required to provide both fuel and groceries as an essential service, not only to the public, but also to designated services such as police and ambulances to save and protect lives.