The Petroleum Industry can be complicated to understand at times especially regarding costs and prices. GASPET is a bulk supplier of fuel and has the experience and knowledge to provide in-depth understanding of how diesel and petrol prices are calculated correctly. GASPET and its skilled team serve as mentors to customers and provide a key understanding of what the procedures and costs are regarding fuel prices.

Basic fuel price
The basic fuel price refers to the cost to import products from different regions in the world into South Africa, and that cost forms the foundation for the calculation of what is the wholesale price list. The retail price list is calculated from the wholesale price list too.
The basic fuel price include the cost of shipping oil products from export refining centers in the following regions:
- Singapore
- The Arab Gulf
- The Mediterranean
Other costs involved in the calculation of the basic fuel price:
- Crude oil
- Harbour costs to load it
- Transportation through oil tankers to South Africa
- Cost of offloading at specific terminals in South Africa (which is run by Transnet)
- Storage costs within the coastal region
- If it was a refined product it would go up to through the pipeline immediately
- Otherwise it will go to the oil majors refineries where the diesel and petrol gets produced
- Thereafter it will be transported to different holding depots across the country.
Wholesale Margin:
Wholesale Margin refers to the component that’s been built into the petrol price. There’s a component that the department of Energy allows for the cost, that the wholesaler incurs, in distributing the product across the country.
Retail Profit Margin:
Retail Profit Margin refers to a component that is incorporated into the petrol price for the retailer itself. The calculation includes all the components of managing a fuel station, including staff and return on capital. Therefore it is the component that’s been allocated to the retailer for selling the product to the retail market.
Transporting fuel
Currently South Africa transports fuel in 3 different ways:
- By Road (from the terminals across the country)
- By Rail (across the country)
- By Transnet pipeline (distributing fuel from Durban up into Gauteng area)
Part of the South African cost of fuel would be the transporting of the fuel from the coastal refineries. It will either be by land with truck or also with the Transnet pipeline that would be included.
Considering the cost, the component of SASOL’s pricing is determined by the International pricing of the basic fuel price. Therefore, even though SASOL is not exposed as such to Rand and Dollar fluctuations, they are exposed to it through the pricing itself, which is calculated based on the cost of production in Dollars.
With diesel and petrol prices changing at certain times, GASPET is always willing to inform customers of price hikes and additional costs involved in the selling of fuel. If any customer requires further information, GASPET can help. Do not hesitate to contact GASPET at any time for more information.