South Africa

IPO for South African fuel giant Engen planned for 2020

October 01, 2019 | Downstream, Refining & Processing, South Africa

London, UK | – Petroliam Nasional BHd and its South African partners plan to conduct an initial public offering in their fuel retailer Engen to fund the upgrade of a refinery in the coastal city of Durban and to expand its network of gas stations. A yet to be decided amount of shares in the company, which is South Africa’s biggest fuel retailer, will likely be sold on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in the first half of next year, according to people familiar with the …

South Africa’s SFF signs oil exploration deal with South Sudan

May 10, 2019 | Licensing & Concessions, South Africa, Sudan & South Sudan

London, UK | — South Africa has signed an agreement to explore oil in South Sudan, which holds the third-largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa’s state-owned Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) will own and operate the lucrative Block B2 in South Sudan and a six-year exploration and production sharing agreement (EPSA) was signed Monday, according to a joint statement from both governments. This is part of a $1 billion investment that South Africa has promised in the war-torn country’s oil sector. Nilepet, the national oil …

Saudi to invest $10bn in South Africa for a new refinery, petrochemical plant

January 22, 2019 | Petrochemicals, Refining & Processing, South Africa

London, UK | – The South African Minister of Energy Jeff Radebe and his Saudi Arabian counterpart Khalid Al-Falih confirmed last week that the kingdom’s $10billion investment in South Africa would be for a new crude oil refinery and petrochemical plant. According to a statement issued by the energy department, the meeting was a follow-up on progress made since President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state visit to Saudi Arabia in July last year. Saudi Arabia and South Africa have been in talks regarding the building of a …

South Africa agrees to process some gas, oil exploration licences

November 30, 2018 | Licensing & Concessions, South Africa

Cape Town, South Africa | – South Africa will relax a moratorium on gas and oil exploration licences implemented earlier this year to allow exploration and production applications already in the system to be granted, a government minister said on Thursday. “This amendment will ensure that applications currently in our system are processed and granted,” Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe told an oil and gas industry meeting. In June, Mantashe published a notice in the government gazette announcing a restriction on the granting of technical …

South Africa looking to Equatorial Guinea, South Sudan and Algeria for oil

August 23, 2018 | Downstream, Government & Regulations, South Africa

London, UK | – South Africa is looking to Algeria, Equatorial-Guinea and South Sudan for crude oil sources closer to home as the country experiences its highest fuel prices in history, Energy Minister Jeff Radebe said on Tuesday. “We are looking very aggressively to other countries, Equatorial Guinea, Algeria, South Sudan,” he said in a briefing to Parliament’s portfolio committee on energy. “If things go well we believe it can also add to resolving the challenges we are facing,” the minister added. Radebe mentioned the three oil producing nations after he was asked by MPs why South Africa did not make …

South Africa’s Sasol signs $3.9 billion credit facility

November 28, 2017 | Budget & Investment, Company Operations, South Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa | – South Africa’s multinational energy and chemicals group Sasol has signed a $3.9 billion five-year credit facility. According to a note to shareholders issued on Thursday, the initial target was $3bn but due to oversubscription, it increased to $3.9bn. The revolving credit facility includes two further extension options of one year each. Chief financial officer Paul Victor, who was speaking at Sasol’s Capital Markets Day in Sandton on Thursday, said the credit facility would help with liquidity and refining the group’s debt. …

Sasol dumps $13-$15 billion U.S. project, to exit Canadian shale

November 28, 2017 | Company Operations, Petrochemicals, South Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa | – South Africa’s integrated energy and petrochemical company, Sasol is pulling out of all of its gas-to-liquids (GTL) greenfield projects including one in Louisiana project expected to cost $13 billion to $15 billion, the company said on Thursday. Walking away from the project, which would have been the biggest investment abroad by a South African company, underscores the headwinds the industry is facing in a volatile market with generally depressed prices. “While our current GTL assets are generating good returns and …

Africa unites to garner investment at Africa Oil Week in Cape Town

November 02, 2017 | Africa, Energy Trading & Markets, South Africa, Upstream

Cape Town, South Africa | – The African oil industry met this week to discuss the potential, but also the challenges, that the industry faces as the continent moves towards the commercialization of its huge gas and oil reserves. Six of Africa’s oil ministers from Cote d’Ivoire, Namibia, Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, South Africa attended, including US Secretary for Energy Rick Perry. The event drew speakers from the highest echelons of government, operators, service providers, legal, advisory and research firms. The key themes discussed were the …