Engen (officially Engen Petroleum) is a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

company, focusing on the downstream refined

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

products market and related businesses. Headquartered in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, Engen has around a quarter of the South African petroleum retail market share, operating over 1,000 gas stations across the country. The company is present in over 20 countries, and exports products to over 30 more - mostly across

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and the

Indian Ocean Islands The islands of the Indian Ocean are part of either the eastern, western, or southern areas. Some prominently large islands include Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, and Lesser Sunda Islands. Eastern Indian Oc ...

History

Engen was founded in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

in 1881, as The Natal Oil Company. Initially, the company focused on producing kerosene and other petroleum products, and its founding was in response to the growing demand for oil and fuel products, driven by industrialization and urbanization in South Africa. Engen began establishing its gas station network across South Africa during the 1960s, as the demand for fuel increased, along with an increase in vehicle ownership in South Africa, and the expansion of its national road network. The company branched out into the production of diesel and aviation fuel in the 1970s, and was producing fuel for the South African and export markets. The Engen Refinery was established in Durban in 1971. The company began trading under the Engen name in 1990. Engen Limited, was listed on the

Johannesburg Stock Exchange JSE Limited (previously the JSE Securities Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange) is the largest stock exchange in Africa. It is located in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, after it moved from downtown Johannesburg in 2000. In 2003 ...

in 1992. In 1995, Engen launched its Customer Service Excellence program, aimed at enhancing the customer experience at its gas stations. Between 1996 and 2000, Engen expanded considerably, establishing affiliates in Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Burundi, Uganda, and Mozambique. Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (

BBBEE Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) is a policy of the South African government which aims to facilitate broader participation in the economy by black people. A form of affirmative action, it is intended especially to redress the inequalities cre ...

) corporation PHEMBANI acquired a 20% stake in Engen in 1999. In the early 2000s, Engen began investing in renewable energy projects and exploring alternative fuels to diversify its energy portfolio. In 2007, Engen bought a facility in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and did the same in 2008 in Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Burundi, and Rwanda. In 2019, Engen reported around 150 million customer visits at its South African gas stations for the year.

Operations

The company is active in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, Mauritius, Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The company's Botswana business is listed on the

Botswana Stock Exchange The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) is a stock exchange located in Gaborone, Botswana. The Botswana share market was established in 1989 and became the Botswana Stock Exchange in 1994. It is governed by the Botswana Stock Exchange Act. The BSE ha ...

and is a constituent of the BSE Domestic Company Index. As with all other major petroleum companies in South Africa, Engen is regulated by the

National Energy Regulator of South Africa National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), is the regulatory authority for the electricity supply industry in South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost countr ...

(NERSA), which is the regulatory authority for the country's energy sector. Engen is a member of the

Fuels Industry Association of South Africa The Fuels Industry Association of South Africa (FIASA) is a South African association focused on the operations, continuation, and success of the country's petroleum industry. FIASA actively engages with stakeholders involved in the industry, p ...

(FIASA), and was one of its founding members when the organization launched in 1994. In 2017, shareholder PHEMBANI reported that Engen held 25% of the South African petroleum market share, and had a crude oil refining capacity of 135,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Gas stations

Engen operates approximately 1,300 service stations in sub-Saharan Africa and Indian Ocean Islands. A number of Engen's service stations are operated on a franchise basis. Engen is the largest

gas station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

operator in South Africa, with 1,040 outlets. This is considerably ahead of

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

, which has 850,

Astron Energy ASTRON is the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy. Its main office is in Dwingeloo in the Dwingelderveld National Park in the province of Drenthe. ASTRON is part of the institutes organization of the Dutch Research Council (NWO). History A ...

(formerly

Caltex Caltex is a petroleum brand name of Chevron Corporation used in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Southern Africa. Headquartered in Singapore, it is also the brand name of non-Chevron petroleum companies in some countries (such as ...

), which has 591, Total Energies with 547, BP with 500, and

Sasol Sasol Limited, commonly referred to as Sasol, is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Sandton, South Africa. The company was formed in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa, and built around coal liquefaction processes that German ...

, with 354. At many of its South African gas stations, Engen hosts partner businesses for customer convenience. These include Woolworths Foodstops,

Steers Steers may refer to: * Steer (cow) or bullock, castrated male cattle * Steers (restaurant), a South African restaurant chain * Steers (surname) * Steers (island), a former island of Indonesia * Kansas City Steers, American former basketball team ...

, Debonairs,

Krispy Kreme Krispy Kreme, Inc. (previously Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.) is an American multinational doughnut company and coffeehouse chain. Krispy Kreme was founded by Vernon Rudolph (1915–1973), who bought a yeast-raised recipe from a New Orleans ch ...

, Wimpy, and Engen's own Brazmata (coffee), Cafe365 (pastries), and Quickshop (convenience store) outlets. Engen has two main loyalty partners for its gas stations. Customers can earn eBucks (loyalty points from major South African bank FNB), as well as ClubCard points (loyalty points from South African healthcare and personal care retailer Clicks). The company allows customers to purchase gas by loading credit or debit cards, as well as loyalty cards, into its Engen 1app mobile app.

Engen Oil Centers

Engen operates Engen Oil Centers, which are approved distributors of Engen- and PETRONAS-branded lubricants. The first Engen Oil Center was established in 2004, and they are located in metropolitan areas across South Africa, and are focused on serving small- and medium-sized clients. These Centers allow customers to correspond with Engen's Technical Services Division for product recommendations.

Manufacturing

Engen sells approximately 500 petrochemical products, many of which are manufactured in its 2 manufacturing plants. Both plants - the Lubricating Oil Blend Plant (LOBP), built in 1991, and the Zenex Blend Plant (ZBP), built in 1986 - are located in alongside the harbor in Island View,

, South Africa. The LOBP manufactures a wide range of lubricants. Its primary activities are lubricants blending and filling, lube oil bulk distribution, raw material receipt, and laboratory testing. Engen blends up to 8 million liters of finished lubricants per month. The ZBP, which became part of Engen Petroleum Limited in 2000, takes various grades of lubricating oils and processes them with the addition of viscosity-enhancing co-polymers, so as to produce various grades and types of lubricating oils. Before it was the ZBP, the plant belonged to

Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (from the phon ...

. Engen operates the Engen Refinery in Wentworth, Durban, where it also houses the Engen Industrial hub, which incorporates land that is prepared and leased to external manufacturers and commercial tenants for a variety of activities. Engen also operates in-house activities from the site which integrate into the company’s supply chain.

Supply chain

Engen's supply chain comprises a variety of infrastructure, including depots, terminals, lubricant warehouses, and aviation facilities. The company operates a bulk truck fleet, rail, and marine tankers to transport its products to consumers. Engen uses Transnet’s Durban-to-Johannesburg Pipeline (DJP) and New Multi Products Pipeline (NMPP) to transport refined petroleum products (including petrol, diesel, jet fuel, and gas) to inland South Africa. The company represent almost all of

PETRONAS Petroliam Nasional Berhad, commonly known as PETRONAS (stylised in all caps), is a Malaysian Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. Established in 1974, it is a lega ...

Lubricants International’s (PLI’s) interests in Africa, and sells PLI lubricants alongside Engen lubricants at its Engen Oil Centers.

Products

Products manufactured by Engen include: * Engen Primax (Unleaded 93 Octane for altitudes 1,200 and above, and unleaded 95 Octane for altitudes below 1,200 meters) * Engen Dynamic Diesel (50 Ppm automotive diesel) * Engen Heavy Furnace Oil (black residual fuel designed specifically for use in, for example, boilers and certain marine engines) * Engen Avgas 100 LL (low lead gas, manufactured by blending high octane petroleum fractions) * Engen Jet-A1 (kerosene type

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

gas turbine engine fuel) * Engen Marine Gas Oil (low viscosity, fully distillate fuel oil) * Durance range of car cleaning products * Various lubricants and chemicals

Ownership

* Until 1990: Mobil South Africa * 1990-1996:

Gencor Gencor Ltd. was a South African based mining company. It was formed in 1980 after the merger of the General Mining and Finance Corporation and the Union Corporation. Parts of the company are now owned by Gold Fields, South 32 and BHP. History Gen ...

* 1996: 30%

* 1998: 100%

* 1998 to 2017: 80%

and 20% PHEMBANI * 2017 to 2024: 74%

, 20% PHEMBANI, and 6% PHEMBANI-led Consortium * 2024 to present: 74% Vivo Energy and 21% PHEMBANI Engen Petroleum (Pty) Limited is a wholly-owned

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

of Vitol Emerald Bidco.

Corporate social responsibility

Select Engen Café 365 and Brazmata outlets use cups made of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

, for eco-friendliness. Since 1987, Engen has run its Engen Maths & Science School (EMSS), with the goal of societal transformation and facilitating access to

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

higher

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

. 10 EMSS centers currently in operation in South Africa, providing over 1,500 underprivileged grade 10 to 12

students A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school ...

with education. The Engen Foundation, established during the early 2000s, focuses on supporting community development initiatives across South Africa. The foundation directs funds towards education, health, and environmental sustainability projects.

Accolades

In November 2020, Engen won the Sunday Times Top Brands award for South Africans' favorite gas station for the 10th consecutive year. The award ceremony recognizes brands that have a sustained history of top consumer sentiment in South Africa.{{cite web, url= https://www.engen.co.za/media/media-release/ten-out-ten-decade-sas-favourite-petrol-station , title= Ten out of Ten – A decade as SA’s favourite petrol station , author= , publisher= Engen , date= 8 November 2020 , access-date= 29 April 2025

External links

Engen Petroleum

Engen Africa (outside South Africa)

References

Companies based in Cape Town Companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Oil and gas companies of South Africa Companies in the BSE DCI Multinational oil companies