Name and Location
Sasol wax expansion project, Free State, South Africa.

Client
Sasol Chemical Industries.

Project Description
The project involves the construction of a new wax plant, at the Sasol One site, in Sasolburg.

The facility is expected to double the production of hard waxes and increase the production of medium waxes, mostly used for the candle industry in South Africa, and liquid paraffin, used in a variety of industrial applications such as adhesives, bitumen used in road construction and printing ink.

Total production of all wax products is expected to increase by about 65%.

The expansion will be implemented in two phases, the first of which will increase hard wax capacity by almost 40%.

Value
Sasol has approved R8.4-billion for the project.

Duration
The project started in 2010.

The first phase of the project came into operation in 2012 and the second phase is planned for 2014.

Latest Developments
A 344.5 t wax reactor for Sasol’s Fischer-Tropsch wax expansion project, which started in 2010, has arrived in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, from South Korea.

The reactor will be transported by road to the Sasol One site, through Pongola, in KwaZulu-Natal, and Piet Retief, in Mpumalanga, and “a short section” of Gauteng before reaching Sasolburg, in the Free Sate.

On completion of the second phase of the project, which is currently under way, the facility is expected to double the company’s production of hard wax in South Africa.

The expansion project forms part of the larger Sasol Sasolburg expansion programme, which include various large projects at the group’s operational facilities.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Foster Wheeler (front-end engineering design); Group Five Civil Engineering (site works).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Sasol Chemical Industries, tel +27 11 441 3841 or fax +27 11 441 3287.