Sasol's overhaul
A new game plan for Sasol
Mega-projects to be binned as the firm cuts gas-to-liquid investment, but plenty of other growth options remain
Sasol’s decision to invest no more money in either new gas-to-liquids (GTL) plants or plant expansions closes the door on several mega-projects that were being studied in Mozambique, Canada and the US. Sasol will retain its stake in the Oryx GTL plant in Qatar and its 10% in Escravos GTL in Nigeria. But it will not proceed with the second, US$15bn investment in a GTL project at Lake Charles, Louisiana. It will sell the shale gas assets in the Montney Basin in Canada that were going to provide the feedstock for a GTL plant. In Mozambique, it began a feasibility study into a GTL plant about three years ago but will no longer proceed to an investment decision. Joint president and CEO Stephen Cornell says existing GTL operations are generating good cash flows. Sasol will optimise its leading position in Fischer-Tropsch technology (the process that turns carbon monoxide and hydrogen into synthetic fuels). But volatile gas and oil prices do not support further investments in these plants....
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