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Refineries & Retail News

Solidarity attributes PetroSA retrenchments to mismanagement, poor political will

By: Donna Slater 25th January 2022 Trade union Solidarity claims that mismanagement and a lack of political will at South African national oil company PetroSA are the main reasons for a second retrenchment process instituted within 12 months of a previous process at the company.  According to Solidarity, the State-owned enterprise... →

Vivo Energy CFO Doug Lafferty resigns to join Aston Martin

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 14th January 2022 JSE-listed African fuel and lubricants retailer Vivo Energy CFO Doug Lafferty has resigned to take up the position of CFO at Aston Martin Lagonda Group. He will, however, remain a director of Vivo Energy until he leaves, which will be no later than July 31. →

Fuel prices will be cut on Wednesday

By: News24Wire 4th January 2022 Consumers are getting some relief early in the new year with fuel prices set to fall on Wednesday. The Central Energy Fund (CEF) announced on Monday that the retail price of petrol (93) will be cut by 71 cents a litre, while 95 will decrease by 68c. The wholesale price of diesel (0.05% sulphur)... →

Zambia hikes fuel prices after removing subsidies on petroleum products

By: Reuters 17th December 2021 Zambia has increased the price of fuel after removing subsidies on petroleum products to reflect the correct price of the commodity, the energy regulator said on Thursday. The pump price of petrol was increased to 21.16 kwacha ($1.29) per litre from 17.62 per litre while diesel price rose to... →

Sasol confirms major downward revision to Secunda’s output amid ongoing coal problems

By: Terence Creamer 14th December 2021 Chemicals and energy group Sasol has announced a significant downward revision to its 2022 production forecast from its Secunda operations in Mpumalanga, owing to ongoing coal production problems. The JSE-listed company told shareholders on Tuesday that output from Secunda would be between... →

Sasol Secunda

Godongwana calls for gasoline-price reforms

By: Bloomberg 12th December 2021 Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana called for changes to the way the fuel price is calculated, after the cost of gasoline rose to a record this month. Regulated fuel prices, which include a levy used to finance a fund to compensate those involved in road accidents and other taxes, have jumped 40%... →

Afine lists on JSE as petrol service station Reit

By: Donna Slater 8th December 2021 Afine Investments, which holds a portfolio of income generating immovable properties focused on the petroleum sector in South Africa, plans to list as a real estate investment trust (Reit) on the JSE on December 9. The company was founded by Peter Todd, with strategic input from Mike Watters –... →

Outrage and calls for fuel price audit as motorists overpaid for petrol on Wednesday

By: News24Wire 3rd December 2021 Some motorists unwittingly paid 6c/litre more per litre of fuel than they should have on Wednesday morning. This was before the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy admitted that it had made a calculation error on the announced 81c increase - saying that it was only meant to increase by... →

Petrol price increase was wrong, energy dept admits

By: News24Wire 1st December 2021 While the petrol price still went up on Wednesday, it was by 75c per litre, and not 81c as the department of mineral resources and energy incorrectly stated this week. "The 6 cents difference is due to the fact that the adjustment of wages for service station workers had already been implemented... →

Big fuel price hikes announced for Wednesday

By: News24Wire 29th November 2021 The petrol price will be hiked by 81c a litre on Wednesday, while diesel will go up by between 72.5c a litre (0.05% sulphur) and 74.5c (0.005% sulphur), the department of mineral resources and energy announced. The latest price hike will push the price of petrol - currently around R19.50 a litre... →

Vitol agrees to buy rest of Vivo Energy in $2.3bn deal

By: Bloomberg 25th November 2021 Trading giant Vitol Group agreed to buy Vivo Energy in a deal valuing the fuel retailer at about $2.3-billion. The deal will bring Vivo assets back in house for the oil trader, which sold shares in the retailer in 2018 in what was one of the biggest initial public offerings on the London Stock... →

Vivo Energy appoints CEO designate

By: Schalk Burger 9th November 2021 JSE-listed energy multinational Vivo Energy has appointed Stanislas Mittelman as CEO designate. He will succeed CEO Christian Chammas, who will step down in 2022. →

Record fuel prices to drive inflationary pressures

By: Bloomberg 2nd November 2021 South Africa’s petrole prices are set to rise to a record on Wednesday, adding to inflationary pressures in an economy that imports almost all of its fuel. The retail cost of 95-octane gasoline will climb by almost 7% to a R19.54 a liter, the Central Energy Fund said in a statement on its... →

CEF mulls buying Sapref oil refinery

By: Bloomberg 27th October 2021 South Africa is considering buying the country’s biggest oil refinery, a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and BP, known as Sapref. The State-owned Central Energy Fund (CEF), which manages the country’s energy assets, is looking at acquiring the 180 000 bbl/d plant, which is located on the... →

The Sapref refinery

Just Share continues battle for Sasol to table shareholder-proposed resolution

By: Simone Liedtke 26th October 2021 Nonprofit shareholder activism organisation JustShare on October 26 said petrochemicals company Sasol had refused to table the sixth shareholder-proposed resolution filed with the company in five consecutive years. The organization said it believes Sasol’s refusal to table such resolutions seems... →

Sakhumnotho acquires 26% stake in Refinex, SA Tank Terminals

By: Schalk Burger 21st October 2021 Investment management company Sakhumnotho has acquired a 26% stake in the privately owned petrochemicals company Refinex and bulk liquid storage company South African Tank Terminals (SATT). This signifies the arrival of an important new player in the energy market, Sakhumnotho said. →

Sasol posts 44% jump in Q1 chemicals revenue

By: Reuters 21st October 2021 Sasol posted a 44% rise in first-quarter revenue in its main chemicals business on higher chemical and crude oil prices, it said on Thursday. Revenue from its chemicals business, which accounts for almost 60% of its turnover and profit, came in at $2.5-billion, driven largely by an average price... →

'Catastrophic' fuel price hike on the cards, AA warns

By: News24Wire 18th October 2021 A "catastrophic" fuel price hike is on the cards for November, the Automobile Association (AA) has warned. Based on its calculations, R20 per litre for petrol was "realistic" before the end of the year, it said in a statement on its website on Monday. →

Initiative aims to double industry supply in five years

By: Halima Frost 15th October 2021 The ‘Doubling of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Market’ initiative, driven by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association of South Africa (LPGSA), initiated in December 2019, is slowly gaining momentum after the inevitable impact of Covid-19 on... →

A stainless steel stove top with gas burners burning blue flame from an LPG gas supply, used for cooking

LPGSA MD Gadibolae Dihlabi discusses the plan to double the LPG sector over the next five years

Gas-to-power crucial to South Africa’s energy future

By: Halima Frost 15th October 2021 Multinational conglomerate General Electric Company (GE) Gas Power strategy & growth director Michael Konadu tells Mining Weekly that although there is no one solution to decrease South Africa’s carbon footprint, gas-to-power will be integral in the mix. He explains that South Africa’s Just... →

A large Gas Power Combined Cycle power plant designed by GE at dusk

TURNING TABLES The gas turbines offered by GE Gas To Power decrease a clients emissions substantially making a dent on its carbon footprint

October petrol price decreases; diesel, paraffin prices increase

By: Schalk Burger 5th October 2021 Fuel prices for petrol and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will decrease from October 6, while diesel and illuminating paraffin prices will increase. Prices for 93-octane petrol will decrease by 4c/ℓ and prices for 95-octane petrol by 1 c/ℓ. →

Production site acquisition finalised

1st October 2021 Multinational industrial gas company Air Liquide’s acquisition of integrated chemicals and energy company Sasol’s 16 Air Separation Units (ASUs) in Secunda, Mpumalanga has now been finalised. The plan to acquire the ASUs was first announced on July 29 last year, subject to approvals. Engineering... →

A photo of seven air separation units and a pylon in the background

BIGGEST OXYGEN PRODUCTION SITE GLOBALLY The initial investment amounts to about R8-billion and comprises 16 air separation units that will now be operated by Air Liquide Large Industries South Africa Air

New drone tech improves inspection capabilities

By: Darren Parker 1st October 2021 Work-at-height company Skyriders has added the Zenith robotic inspection device –a new vertical inspection technology – to its portfolio of services. The winch-operated pan-tilt-zoom camera drone increases the accuracy and efficiency of repeat inspections in vertical downhole applications such as... →

A photo of the fully assembled Zenith robotic inspection device including camera, controller and tripod

DOWN-HOLE DREAM Skyriders first used the Zenith robotic inspection device in June for internal inspections on large petrochemicals tanks

Carbon tax ineffective against major emitters

By: Darren Parker 1st October 2021 South Africa’s “laughably weak and ineffective” carbon tax regime is no disincentive to carbon-intensive businesses, such as integrated chemicals and energy company Sasol, environmental activist organisation Greenpeace Africa climate and energy campaigner Thandile Chinyavanhu tells Engineering... →

A photo of a Sasol plant emitting pollution into the air while crops and flowers grow in the foreground

Photo by Reuters
PINING FOR CHANGE Greenpeace Africa ponders whether a just transition is possible while major emitters continue to be granted large-scale carbon tax allowances

More equipment donated in the fight against Covid-19

1st October 2021 Integrated chemicals and energy company Sasol has donated mobile clinics, vaccine carriers, laptops, specialised World Health Organisation-approved medical refrigerators and freezers, as well as temperature loggers to the provincial health departments in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Free State to... →

A photo of a healthworker’s hands filling out a form at a table with Covid-19 vaccinations lined up in the foreground

SPREADING THE CURE Sasol is supporting Government’s vaccination rollout strategy by donating essential equipment and resources

Refrigeration system to cut energy costs available

By: Halima Frost 17th September 2021 With South African retailers looking for ways of recovering from the latest lockdown, as well as the looting and vandalism, an opportunity to decrease costs on the system that comprises the bulk of their energy spend, which is refrigeration, has arisen. “All food retailers rely on refrigeration... →

A large solar installation on a clients roof installed by EP Refrigeration, which is grid-tied and decreases the clients reliance on grid power

LIGHT WORK Adding a solar installation to a company's refrigeration unit deceases the cost of running the unit off grid power alone

Nigeria's Dangote in talks with traders for oil refinery loan

By: Reuters 15th September 2021 Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote is in talks with some of the world's biggest oil traders to help finance his mega refinery project outside of Nigeria's commercial centre Lagos, sources with knowledge of the matter said. The 650 000 bl/d refinery, once complete, will be the continent's largest... →

Struggling fuel retail sector needs to transform, says FRA

By: Schalk Burger 7th September 2021 With margin erosion owing to poor implementation of the Regulatory Accounts System (RAS) leading to fuel retail outlets under-recovering about 12c a litre and alternatives to fuels being driven by customer demand and the global emissions reduction agenda, the fuel retail industry must transform... →

Dangote refinery complex in Nigeria set to cost $19bn

By: Bloomberg 2nd September 2021 A giant oil refinery complex being built in Nigeria by a company owned by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, will cost more than double the amount originally projected. “Our capex will almost go to $19-billion by the time we finish,” Devakumar Edwin, group executive director of Dangote... →

Fully developed legislation needed

By: Nadine Ramdass 27th August 2021 The legislation has not caught up with where the gas industry needs it to be, says gas producer Renergen CEO and MD Stefano Marani. Technical aspects that are critical to companies’ decision-making have not yet been addressed, with industries in the gas sector consequently unable to develop to... →

An image of gas extraction at Renergen's Virginia Gas project

GAS EXTRACTION Renergen is the only onshore petroleum rights holder in South Africa

Sasol donates equipment to assist Free State govt in Covid-19 vaccine roll-out

By: Yvonne Silaule 23rd August 2021 Integrated energy and chemicalS company Sasol has donated equipment to the Free State provincial government to support the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines. The equipment included a custom-built mobile clinic, a Toyota Hi-Ace 14-seater minibus, five vaccine cold storage freezers, 25 vaccine... →

Fuel prices may dip in September if oil downtrend continues

By: News24Wire 17th August 2021 The latest calculations by the Central Energy Fund show that – at the current levels of the dollar/rand rate and oil prices – diesel prices may be cut slightly in September, while petrol could be hiked. According to the Automobile Association, the petrol price could increase by around 4c a litre,... →

Sasol expects full-year earnings to more than double

By: Donna Slater 6th August 2021 Chemicals and energy company Sasol reports that its earnings a share for the financial year ended June 30, are expected to be between R12 and R18, compared with the loss a share of R148.49 reported for the 2020 financial year. Sasol’s headline earnings per share (HEPS) are also expected to be... →

Nigeria approves $15.4bn refinery, railway projects

By: Bloomberg 6th August 2021 Nigeria’s government approved major transport and energy investments, including a stake in a giant private refinery, that are expected to cost $15.4-billion. Ministers in the West African nation signed off Wednesday on the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.’s proposed purchase of a 20%... →

Sasol donates R10m to help rebuild businesses, communities affected by unrest

By: Creamer Media Reporter 5th August 2021 Energy and chemicals company Sasol has committed R10-million to help rebuild businesses and communities that have been devastated by the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. The funds were raised through corporate donation, employee giving mobilisation and small, medium-sized and... →

Caltex service stations to be rebranded as Astron Energy

By: Donna Slater 4th August 2021 All Caltex-branded service stations in South Africa and Botswana will be rebranded as Astron Energy. Astron owns South Africa’s second largest petroleum network and there are over 850 Caltex-branded service stations in South Africa and Botswana. →

Africa needs to spend $15.7bn on refineries to curb emissions

By: Bloomberg 4th August 2021 African nations need to spend about $15.7-billion on their refineries to curb emissions and meet climate-change targets as demand for oil and gas surges, according to an industry lobby group. Governments on the continent should focus on reducing sulfur levels in petroleum products because... →

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