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Refineries & Retail News

Sasol narrows immediate asset-disposal focus to ‘top ten’ list

By: Terence Creamer 3rd July 2020 Chemicals and energy group Sasol has developed a list of ten major assets that will be prioritised for sale in the coming weeks and months as it moves to streamline the business into what is being termed ‘Sasol 2.0’, while also raising proceeds to help it reduce a $9.5-billion debt burden. In... →

Two killed, seven injured in incident at Astron's Milnerton refinery

By: Marleny Arnoldi 2nd July 2020 Petrochemicals company Astron Energy has confirmed that two people were killed and seven injured in a fire at its 100 000 bbl/d Milnerton refinery, in the Western Cape, in the early hours of July 2. The company immediately activated its emergency response procedures and notified the relevant... →

SA petrol price to rise by up to 172 cents from July 1, government says

By: African News Agency 30th June 2020 The retail price of petrol in South Africa will increase by up to R1.72 (10 US cents) a litre from Wednesday while the wholesale price of diesel will rise by as much as R1.73, the department of mineral resources and energy said on Tuesday. The department said the retail price of illuminating... →

Fuel prices projected to increase due to weak rand, rebound in global oil market – AA

By: News24Wire 26th June 2020 The Automobile Association is projecting that South African motorists will pay about R1.73 more for a litre petrol, and R1.74/l more for diesel, from next week when fuel prices for July come into effect. It was commenting on unaudited month-end fuel price data released by the Central Energy... →

Advantages of biodiesel highlighted

19th June 2020 Women-owned biodiesel distributor EcoDiesel believes that the solution to South Africa’s current need for an alternative energy source that is efficient, recycles waste and takes care of the environment, is biodiesel. “Crude reserves, global price volatility and environmental impact issues have... →

TRUCK IT EcoDiesel is making the environment and cost saving benefits of locally manufactured biodiesel better known in South Africa

Sasol revamp to cut jobs, end West African oil ops

By: Reuters 18th June 2020 South Africa's Sasol plans to cut jobs and end West African oil operations as part of a business revamp, the petrochemicals producer said on Thursday, adding it had also agreed a deal with lenders to relax borrowing rules. Sasol has been reviewing its business as it struggles with high debt... →

DMRE welcomes new female energy sector business leaders

By: Donna Slater 5th June 2020 Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has welcomed the recent appointments of a number of women to senior executive positions in the energy sector. According to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), the appointment of women to leadership roles, specifically in the... →

Fuel price set to rise as economy gears up for Level 3 – AA

By: News24Wire 29th May 2020 The fall in the petrol price of recent months is set to come to an end in June, according to the latest projections released by the Automobile Association on Friday. The Association said in a statement that petrol is expected to increase by up to R1.18 a litre. The association also expects an... →

Entries for Sasol Business Accelerator programme now open

By: Donna Slater 28th May 2020 Petrochemicals and chemicals manufacturer Sasol reports that it has opened entries for small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs) in the manufacturing, engineering services and recyclables sectors to join its Sasol Business Accelerator (SBA) programme. Interested companies must be based in... →

Reports of CEF acquiring Sasol’s fuel retail network dismissed

By: Terence Creamer 27th May 2020 Chemicals and energy group Sasol has dismissed reports that it plans to sell its fuel retail business as part of an ongoing asset disposal process, while the State-owned Central Energy Fund (CEF) has described as “malicious” reports that it is in talks to acquire Sasol’s petrol stations. Sasol... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Sasol CFO Paul Victor

CEF looks to buy Sasol assets to end losses

By: Bloomberg 26th May 2020 The State-owned Central Energy Fund (CEF) is considering buying assets that have been put on the block by fuel and chemical maker Sasol as it seeks to restore itself to profitability. The CEF “needs to put an end to the losses” at its units, including oil company PetroSA, chairperson Monde... →

CEF fills all vacant CEO positions for group companies

By: Donna Slater 11th May 2020 Having not had permanent CEOs since 2014, the Central Energy Fund (CEF) has now filled the position of group CEO, as well as all vacant CEO positions at its group companies, in particular at the Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF), the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (Pasa) and national oil company... →

International oil, gas industry in unchartered waters – Norton Rose Fulbright

By: Donna Slater 6th May 2020 The oil and gas industry is experiencing a “truly historic moment”, with prices having dropped below zero for a barrel of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments likely to be halted in the near future, says law firm Norton Rose Fullbright US oil and gas practice head Julie Mayo. She... →

Vivo Energy reports Covid-19-related slump in demand for its products

By: Donna Slater 30th April 2020 Pan-African fuel and lubricant retailer and distributor Vivo Energy has reported a first-quarter gross profit of $179-million, up 6% from the first quarter of 2019, with a strong available liquidity position of $1.6-billion. The company experienced strong trading in January and February,... →

Govt set to lose up to R7bn in April on fuel levies, says AA

By: Irma Venter 29th April 2020 With the significant drop in fuel use seen during April’s lockdown, government’s revenue from the general fuel levy (GFL), which comprises about 25% of every litre of fuel, is set to suffer a major decline, says the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA). “Considering the annual collection... →

Sasol cuts output as Covid-19 eats into fuels and chemicals demand

By: Terence Creamer 23rd April 2020 Embattled chemicals and energy group Sasol reports that South Africa’s lockdown is having a significant impact on fuel demand, as well as demand for chemicals used in the mining and construction sectors. The JSE-listed group has, therefore, been forced to curtail production at certain plants. In... →

Business is booming for supplier

By: Darren Parker 10th April 2020 Stainless steel vessels and tanks supplier Metal Tank Industries has noted a definite market upswing in the past eight months, particularly in the food and beverage sector, as well as in the industrial sector, in terms of mineral oils, petroleum oils, chemicals and agrochemicals production.... →

MAKING IT WORK Metal Tank Industries’ streamlined production processes has helped it become more competitive in terms of costing

Sapref donates masks, goggles to community clinics

By: Marleny Arnoldi 7th April 2020 The Sapref refinery, a joint venture between Shell South Africa Refining and BP Southern Africa, has heeded the call for corporates to donate their personal protective equipment (PPE) stock to the healthcare sector. This comes amid a shortage of masks and other PPE needed to fight the Covid-19... →

Sapref donates equipment to the Bluff clinic, in KwaZulu-Natal

Chemicals industry likely to face longer-than-expected downturn, says ICIS

By: Donna Slater 7th April 2020 The Independent Commodity Intelligence Service (ICIS) has warned the international chemical sector to prepare for an extended downturn along with lower-for-longer oil prices, both of which will have big implications for profitability and investments. ICIS demand forecasting lead analyst Rhian... →

Production of petroleum products continuing under lockdown − Sapia

By: Donna Slater 1st April 2020 The South African Petroleum Industry Association (Sapia) has confirmed that the production and distribution of petroleum products is continuing during the 21-day national lockdown, as the liquid fuels industry forms part of essential products and services. Although two refineries are currently... →

Enviro reporting, licensing processes to enjoy extended timeframes

By: Marleny Arnoldi 1st April 2020 Law firm Webber Wentzel says that, in light of the current restrictions of movement of people in South Africa to curb the spread of Covid-19, various timeframes around environmental applications and others have been extended. Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy on March... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy

Engen refinery temporarily shut amid low demand

By: Donna Slater 30th March 2020 The Durban-based petroleum refinery of fuels, lubricants and oil-based products distributor and marketer Engen has undergone a temporary controlled shut down, effective March 27, as a result of forecasted lower demand for petroleum products during the national lockdown which came into effect from... →

Sasol ramps up sanitiser chemicals production

By: Marleny Arnoldi 30th March 2020 JSE-listed petrochemicals giant Sasol has developed a new unique blend of alcohol-based chemicals to be used in the manufacture of hand sanitisers to help address the increase in market demand for these products. “While global demand and pricing for ethanol and isopropanol alcohol has increased... →

Privatisation slowly becoming reality

By: Tracy Hancock 20th March 2020 The type of participants attending this year’s Power & Electricity World Africa & The Solar Show are proof that Africa seeks to become less reliant on governments for its electricity supply, says event organiser Terrapinn Power & Electricity World Africa conference producer Caroline Mubima.... →

DRIVEN DISCUSSION The growing adoption of electric vehicles is one trend expected to dominate discussion at Power & Electricity World Africa 2020

Consultancy predicts potential downcycle for petrochemicals industry

13th March 2020 Chemicals consultancy group Wood Mackenzie predicts the start of a downcycle in China’s petrochemicals industry. A supply overhang has hit the country’s paraxylene (PX) market, with olefins and polyolefins markets almost certain to follow. →

Photo by Bloomberg
TURBULENT MARKETS Weak global economic growth, the US-China trade war, a decrease in automobile production and a booming electronic-commerce industry influenced China’s polyolefins market last year

Sasol’s record plunge boosts speculation of a rights issue

By: Bloomberg 10th March 2020 Sasol’s record share plunge on Monday, coming as the oil price slumped and just days after the company credit rating was cut to junk by Moody’s Investors Service, is raising concern among investors that it may need to hold a rights offer as it struggles with a debt burden of about $8-billion. The... →

Sasol leads South African stocks to 4-year low as oil crash hits global markets

By: Reuters 9th March 2020 South African stocks plunged to a more than four-year low on Monday, joining a global sell-off in riskier assets as oil prices collapsed more than 30%, hitting chemical and energy firm Sasol the hardest. Saudi Arabia's plans to hike crude production and slash its official selling price came after... →

Fuel prices projected to fall as coronavirus fears impact global oil price – AA

By: News24Wire 28th February 2020 The Automobile Association (AA) has said that motorists can expect "substantial fuel price reductions" next month, in part due to falling world oil prices as coronavirus fears impact global economic activity. "The impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak on global economic activity cannot be... →

South Africa’s Astron ‘a nice short to have for the trading business’ – Glencore

By: Martin Creamer 18th February 2020 Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg on Tuesday described his company’s investment in Astron Energy oil refinery and fuel distribution station business in South Africa as “a nice short to have for the trading business”. The Chevron oil refinery in Cape Town and the Caltex brand now fall under Astron... →

Numsa signs wage deal in motor retail, components sector

By: Schalk Burger 28th January 2020 The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), which represents about 306 000 employees at automotive components companies, petrol stations and car dealerships, has signed a three-year wage agreement. Under the terms of the wage agreement, Numsa members employed by component... →

AA projects fall in fuel prices for February as global oil price declines

By: News24Wire 28th January 2020 The Automobile Association has said that global declines in the price of oil since the second week of 2019 will likely give South African motorists a breather for February. According to its projections, 95 Octane petrol will drop by around 13 cents a litre, 93 Octane petrol will drop by 4 cents... →

Uganda says refinery investor group nearing final decision

By: Bloomberg 22nd January 2020 The General Electric-led group picked to build a $3.5-billion refinery in Uganda is close to making a final investment decision for the project, according to the country’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development. The decision requires the start of work on the infrastructure connected to the... →

Demand increasing for boiler cleaning

By: Cameron Mackay 17th January 2020 There has been a signifiscant increase in demand for industrial and chemical cleaning solutions provider Gra-Tech’s chemical cleaning of package boilers, as industries in which package boilers are used are looking to optimise operational efficiencies and reduce costs. Package boilers are smaller... →

SQUEAKY CLEAN Preoperational cleaning of boilers before commissioning require a 1% hydrofluoric acid solution to remove most mill scale and fabrication defects

Vivo to cooperate with Moroccan authority regarding fuel investigation

By: Simone Liedtke 16th January 2020 JSE-listed Vivo Energy has confirmed that its subsidiary in Morocco has received a report from the investigators in charge of the Conseil de la Concurrence’s (CdC’s) ongoing review of the competitive dynamics of the Moroccan fuel retailing industry. Based on the procedures specified in the rules,... →

US-Iran conflict to affect February fuel price adjustment – AA

By: African News Agency 15th January 2020 Unleaded 95 Octane petrol is expected to drop by eight cents a litre in February, but 93 Octane petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin are all set to increase at month-end due to the tensions between Iran and the US, the Automobile Association said on Wednesday. Commenting on unaudited... →

Company provides solutions for sectioned refinery shutdown

6th December 2019 Generator and compressor rental company Rand Air’s oil-free compressors, portable generators and nitrogen generators ensure ‘well-oiled’ refinery shutdowns, says Rand Air Durban area manager Rudi de Vry. In June, South Africa’s largest refinery completed a month-long shutdown, during which... →

SA petrol price to rise by 22 cents, retail paraffin cost to dip 24 cents effective Wednesday

By: African News Agency 3rd December 2019 The retail price of both grades of petrol sold in South Africa will rise by 22 cents a litre from Wednesday while the wholesale price of diesel will dip by as much as 15.95 cents, a statement from the mineral resources and energy department said on Tuesday. The department said the retail prices... →

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