South Africa's largest refinery SAPREF shut down temporarily amid looting

South Africa's largest refinery SAPREF in the east coast port city of Durban has been temporarily shut down due as the country struggles with mass looting and the worst violence in years, an industry official said on Wednesday.

A 50/50 joint venture between BP and Shell, SAPREF has a nameplate capacity of 180,000 barrels per day and accounts for around 35% of the refining capacity in Africa's most industrialised economy, a net importer of petroleum products.