Johannesburg - PetroSA has restarted its 45 000 barrels per day (bpd) gas-to-liquids refinery in Mossel Bay after a shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) caused petrol stations to be shut down around the country.
"The refinery came on line at the weekend," spokesperson Thabo Mabaso said on Tuesday.
"We did it in terms of our supply commitments to our clients."
Shortages of LPG occurred after shutdowns at four of the country's six refineries.
LPG is used in manufacturing, for the bitumen used in road construction, as fuel and by households.
A 180 000 bpd refinery owned by Shell and BP shut one of its process units for repairs in October after a problem was discovered during a post-maintenance restart.
Other refineries in South Africa include Chevron's 100 000 bpd Chevref refinery, the 108 000 bpd Natref refinery jointly owned by Sasol [JSE:SOL] and Total, and Sasol's 150 000 bpd refinery at Secunda.
On Monday, Engen said about 20 Engen service stations across the country had run dry.
It said this was the result of several factors, including planned and unplanned maintenance shutdowns at Engen refineries.
Engen Petroleum has said its 125 000 bpd plant will be shut until the end of November because of a fire and planned maintenance work at the plant.