Page 5 - DMEA Week 10 2023

DMEA COMMENTARY DMEA

though, the partners said the unit had restarted, costs”.
adding that it was ramping up production Operations were halted in 2020 due to feed-
despite being under force-majeure. stock challenges resulting from a sharp decline
Sasol previously said that investments in local gas production. PetroSA’s RFP notes that
required to make Natref comply with new indus- it is developing a ‘long-term feedstock solution’,
try regulations would be “sub-economical”. which is expected allow full production from the
At the time, partners expected to make a call asset by 2027/28.
on the plant’s fate later in 2022, with sale, closure, At present, Downstream MEA (DMEA)
conversion for storage or blending all said to understands that South Africa’s current operable
have been under consideration. While the com- refining throughput capacity is around 330,000-
pany welcomed the delays in implementing CF2, 340,000 bpd, comprising Astron, Natref and the
it said it would continue to “evaluate options” Secunda CTL plant which utilises Sasol’s propri-
for the facility. No announcement has yet been etary Fischer-Tropsch (FT) technology.
made public. While falling well short of the 700,000 bpd
On February 1, Astron that it was set to slate available in 2018/19 before the closures of
re-commission its Cape Town plant, noting Engen, Sapref and Mossel Bay GTL, the resump-
plans “to fully recommence the production of tion of operations at Astron and stability at
refined products for supply into the Western Natref will likely bring a notable improvement
Cape and the wider South African regions in the on the reported production of 215,000-225,000
coming weeks.” bpd reported last year.
Glencore first acquired the plant in 2019
as part of a $1bn deal with Chevron, and had Mutual benefits
recently completed a $400mn upgrade to the With most refining slates having been largely out
facility in order to allow it to produce low-sul- of commission, shortages of petroleum products
phur fuel. Glencore CEO Gary Nagle had also have been acute, leading to pump price spikes
suggested the refinery would eventually be as well as fuel shortages at major airports. How-
able to produce fuel in line with South Africa’s ever, a ramping back up of refining will allow the
incoming clean fuel legislation, saying: “We are country to ease its logistical problems and lessen
bringing it back on and we believe there is a com- its dependence on foreign fuel imports.
mercial case to do that”. Meanwhile, in January, Alluding to the major opportunity presented
South African state oil firm PetroSA kicked off by the country’s large and growing product
efforts to find partners to reinvigorate the mori- demand, Glencore’s Nagle said last year that
bund Mossel Bay GTL unit. The company issued the Astron unit had been improved during its
a request for proposals (RFP) “for development, rebuild and would produce additional prod-
refurbishment, modification, upgrade, funding ucts. This has allowed the company to change
and/or operation” of the facility, to reinstate full its cost base, providing confidence that it will be
production “in the earliest possible time at least profitable.™

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