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South African refiner and bunker supplier Engen Petroleum Ltd. has said that its bunker-producing refinery in Durban looks set to be closed for up to 120 days following a fire on Thursday morning.

Speaking to news agency Reuters, Engen spokesman Herb Payne said "It could be anything from three to four months."

"I don't know when we will have a better estimate of the time as a lot of it relates to sourcing of equipment from abroad."

The fire, which is reported to have taken place shortly after midnight on Thursday, broke out in the refinery's crude unit, which feeds crude oil into the refinery's processing units. Payne said the cause of the fire was still unknown, but the company believed it could have been a mechanical issue.

Engen has already said that it will implement contingency plans to import refined fuel in order to avoid any shortages.

The Durban refinery, which is 80 percent-owned by Malaysia's state-owned oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd. (Petronas), is one of the principal supply sources for the South African bunker market.

The port of Durban is the country's largest in terms of cargo volume and marine fuel sold. It accounts for approximately 70 percent of total bunker demand in South Africa, which is estimated to be approximately 3.3 million metric tonnes per year. Annual volumes at the port are around 2.3 million tonnes.