Africa is among the most exposed regions to both supply disruptions and higher prices. Around 70% of jet fuel and kerosene imports to the continent flow via the Strait of Hormuz, according to financial and commodities analytics firm S&P Global.
Since the conflict began in late February, shipping of fuel from refineries in the Middle East through the Strait of Hormuz has almost ground to a halt, removing roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies from the market.
“You fly to airports across Southern, West and East Africa and you negotiate prices on arrival,” Jannie de Klerk, Executive Director of Flight Operations at South Africa’s National Airways Corporation, a charter business which also includes air ambulance services, told Reuters.
“By the time you get there, the price has changed. If the war continues, availability will become a problem. The instability of (jet fuel) prices makes it very challenging to move around.”
De Klerk cited a recent return flight from Lanseria to Cape Town via St Helena to collect a medical emergency patient, where jet fuel prices jumped by $0.355 a litre to $1.41/litre within 10 hours between the outbound and return legs.
“We now have to be very careful of how far ahead you quote for jobs, otherwise you can quote short and lose money instead of making money,” he said.
Jet fuel prices in north‑west Europe have surged to record highs near $239 a barrel since the conflict began, according to London Stock Exchange Group data. Asian jet fuel prices are approaching $200 a barrel, close to recent records.
–Reuters–
