Sasol completes sale of stake in Rompco pipeline
Chemicals and energy group Sasol has completed the sale of a stake in the Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Company (Rompco) pipeline, which transports gas from Mozambique to SA.
As part of the deal, shares were sold for an initial amount of R4.1bn, subject to certain adjustments, and a deferred payment will be made of up to R1bn, payable if certain agreed milestones are achieved by end-June 2024, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
The 865km pipeline stretches from Sasol’s Pande and Temane offshore gas fields in southern Mozambique and over the border to deliver the natural gas to Sasol’s operations in Secunda. Other transmission pipelines go on to deliver the same gas to a number of industrial users in SA such as Consol and ArcelorMittal SA.
In June 2021, SA and Mozambique exercised their pre-emptive rights to increase stakes in the Rompco pipeline.
The state-owned Gas Development Company (iGas) and Mozambique’s Companhia Mocambicana de Gasoduto (CMG) acquired a 30% share of the line.
Sasol will still hold a 20% stake in the pipeline and access to the critical natural gas supply. It will continue to operate and maintain the pipeline in terms of the commercial agreement between Sasol and Rompco, independent of the transaction, the group said.
Sasol also said its agreements with Rompco to transport gas to Secunda are unaffected by the deal and “the tariffs remain as per the said agreements, which were approved by the National Energy Regulator of SA”.