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The Rhodesia Herald, 

November 22, 1965

THERE was no panic reaction in Salisbury yesterday to the provision for an oil embargo in the resolution on Rhodesia passed by the UN Security Council on Saturday evening, and no sign as yet of the Government moving to curb oil consumption for foreign exchange or other reasons.

The consensus view among Government officials and businessmen on the effects to impose such a ban might be made, but it would be very difficult to do so effectively for a number of reasons. 

Apart from specialist fuels like aviation spirit, most of the petroleum products used in Rhodesia and Zambia come from the Central African Petroleum Refineries (CAPREF) plant at Feruka near Umtali. 

The consumption of crude oil at CAPREF has been running at the level of 700 000 tonnes a year. 

The crude oil comes from Iran in the Persian Gulf and is offloaded from tankers at Beira for pumping through the pipeline to Feruka. 

About two-thirds of the Feruka output is used in Rhodesia. The remaining third goes to Zambia. 

Malawi imports its petroleum products already refined through Beira. 

The two most important products from Feruka are ordinary petrol which the five marketing companies operating in Rhodesia – Shell, BP, Mobil, Caltex and Total – mix their own additives to get the independent brands and light diesel oil used mostly by the Railways and in commercial transport. 

An effective ban would therefore have to seal off the possibility of any supplies of crude or refined products reaching Rhodesia, and at the same time make alternative arrangements for supplying Zambia. 

The problems would be immense. There is a surplus of crude oil in the world, on both sides of the Iron Curtain, and a very flexible system of distribution. The bulk of the equity in CAPREF is held between Shell, BP, Mobil and Caltex through companies which might be covered by a British and American embargo. 

But the fifth local marketer is Total, a French originated company, and it is significant that France did not take part in the Security Council vote. 

Even if an embargo on the import of crude oil and the operation of the refinery were successful, it is possible that sources could be found to supply refined products which would by-pass the refinery for the time being. 

Again, it is possible that the South African refineries – two in Durban and one soon to come on stream in Cape Town – assisted by the refinery in Lourenco Marques could increase their throughput of crude oil to supply the Rhodesian market, although there are obvious problems in transporting the products from the coast to Rhodesia. 

All three of these holes would have to be plugged for an embargo to be effective. So long as Rhodesia has the currency to buy crude or refined products, the local expert opinion is that it is likely they can be plugged. 

 LESSONS FOR TODAY 

Oil is a much sort after commodity because it is essential for the production of by-products such as petrol and diesel which fuel motor vehicles and machines that are necessary in driving economic growth. 

The imposition of an oil embargo on any country is a drastic measure that can cripple a nation. 

The best way to beat an embargo is to make contingency measures. Just as Ian Smith’s illegal government made plans to circumvent the sanctions, the Second Republic is making concerted efforts to drive development in the country, amid the illegal sanctions imposed by the West. 

It is important to have adequate cover for things like fuel to ensure continuous supplies when normal supplies are interrupted.