8 million. That is the size of South Africa’s oil reserve, and it sounds like the kind of number that should bring comfort in a crisis.
But in today’s Number of the Day, Gareth Edwards and Francis Herd explain why that figure may not go nearly as far as it sounds. The reserve exists as a last resort, not as a simple answer to rising prices, and government appears reluctant to tap it unless supply conditions become severe.
The episode unpacks the difference between having emergency barrels in storage and actually protecting South Africans from higher petrol and diesel costs. It also zooms out to the global picture, where major economies are talking about oil releases on a completely different scale.
Number of the Day: 8 million
Catch up on all Number of the Day episodes here: https://www.enca.com/number-day-podcast
