Another theft of fuel from a Transnet pipeline to Gauteng from Durban pushed the number of incidents of such breaches on its network to more than 90, a threefold increase compared with the whole of last year.
The theft of diesel from the pipeline that supplies 148-million litres of fuel a week is the latest in escalating fuel theft from Transnet’s pipeline division.
Transnet, which operates 3,116km of pipelines, supplies 70% of all liquid fuel in the form of diesel, petrol and jet fuel, as well as methane-rich gas, to inland markets from the coast.
“We are in discussions with our customers to manage the supply of diesel to the inland market during the repair period,” Transnet said.
The latest incident, which takes breaches of its pipelines to more than 90 in the first seven months of its financial year, happened near Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal. No detail was given on the amount of diesel lost or how long it would take to fix the breach.
State-owned rail, port and pipeline utility Transnet noted in its annual results released last week that the increase in theft from its pipeline network that is fed from Durban and Richards Bay across KwaZulu-Natal and into the Free State, Mpumalanga and Gauteng, had resulted in the division’s net operating expenses jumping by 52% to R1.9bn.
The increase in costs was due to an “unprecedented increase” in incidents of pipeline theft and consequent environmental cleanup and rehabilitation costs, Transnet said.
Transnet reported 26 breaches of its pipelines, spilling fuel into the environment in the 2020 financial year.
More worryingly, the cost to move a million litres, or a megalitre, one kilometre increased to R227 from R139 the year before “as a result of product theft”.
“The unprecedented number of product theft incidents poses a significant risk to the security of supply to the inland market,” Transnet said.
“Theft remains a major concern, with diesel and fuel theft at Transnet Pipelines and cable and rail equipment theft and locomotive stripping escalating to crisis levels. We have introduced measures to fight the theft and are already in the process of improving security in our operations and collaboration with other state-owned companies and law enforcement agencies.”
The 555km-long, 24-inch pipe between Durban and Johannesburg was commissioned in 2012 and has pumped more than 16-billion litres of diesel to Gauteng.
Transnet Pipelines plans to pump 17.7-billion litres of petroleum in the 2021 financial year to end-March.
The pipelines division, the smallest generator of revenue for Transnet out of its operating divisions, is seen as a strategically important asset and one which the parastatal plans to use to access markets in neighbouring countries.
In the annual results, Transnet said the division was working with its freight rail division, the biggest earner, to “offer Botswana the required security of fuel supply via an integrated pipeline and rail solution as an alternative to the volume presently transported by road”.
“This model can be replicated to service other neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe. Pipelines has further identified Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania as potential markets,” it said.
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