When BP and Shell sold the South African Petroleum Refinery (Sapref) in 2024 to the Central Energy Fund, a government entity, for R1 (or six US cents), environmental advocates warned that Sapref had not taken any steps to clean up pollution. Neither had it made reparations for harm inflicted on the health of nearby residents from over six decades of crude oil processing. The refinery is in the port city of Durban, on South Africa’s east coast.
One year after the sale, the cleanup still needs to happen. South Africa’s National Environmental Management Act is based on the “polluter must pay” principle. This law states that every person (including companies) who caused significant pollution or degradation of the environment must take measures to prevent, minimise and rectify it.
