Sasol plans to run its flagship plant at full capacity, offsetting the use of coal feedstock by sourcing more renewables as part of a strategy by the world\u2019s top producer of synthetic fuel from coal to improve its business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa\u2019s second-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases will aim to ramp up the Secunda synthetic-fuels facility as close to a nameplate capacity of 7.6 million tons a year as possible, while maintaining its target of reducing emissions by 30% by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have to decarbonize \u2014 we will \u2014 but we\u2019ll never decarbonize by shutting down,\u201d Sasol Chief Executive Officer Simon Baloyi said in an interview on the company\u2019s Capital Markets Day strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, it will expand a renewable-energy target by about two thirds to 2,000 megawatts.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need to work on offsets so that we can keep the fossil fuel part running as long as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sasol\u2019s first so-called CMD plan in four years comes during a turbulent oil market \u2014 that correlates with its fuel business \u2014 and US President Donald Trump\u2019s irregular tariff oscillations that affect supply chains. The stock has slumped for the past year, with investors eager for details on a future strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the company focuses on improving coal quality to ramp up Secunda and cutting costs, it\u2019s working on improving the chemical arm to earn as much as $1 billion annually, more than three times its current contribution, to the group in the next five years, said Baloyi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe spent $12 billion on our international chemical business and we have to make sure we turn around that business,\u201d he told reporters. Sasol spent $12.8 billion on the Lake Charles chemicals facility in Louisiana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sasol has put in place protections from ongoing volatility in crude and foreign-exchange markets. For this year, it\u2019s completed an oil-hedging program that set the floor at around $60 a barrel, which is around the break-even price, and it has covered most volumes for the next, according to Sasol Chief Financial Officer Walt Bruns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company is also lowering the net-debt level needed to trigger a dividend to $3 billion in fiscal 2027 from $4 billion, he said. It exceeded this in 2024, resulting in it skipping a final payout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sasol initially estimated that its emissions-reduction roadmap to reach the 30% cut would cost as much as 25 billion rand ($1.4 billion). It\u2019s trimmed that to 7 billion because it\u2019s opted not to supply Secunda with liquefied natural gas to displace coal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baloyi said some of the preliminary agreements that Sasol has announced over the last year or so \u2014 including a sustainable aviation business with Topsoe, a partnership with South African state-owned power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. on gas aggregation, and a clean-energy platform with Discovery Green \u2014 are signs of a longer-term move to a lower carbon-energy business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou won\u2019t see us bringing gas to use our own facility, but gas-to-power we\u2019ll probably do; we will do renewables\u201d along with sustainable aviation fuel, the CEO said. \u201cNaturally, we will slowly start to move away from fossil fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sasol may list its international chemical business \u201ctowards the end of the decade,\u201d following a turnaround of the business that\u2019s underway, according to Chief Executive Officer Simon Baloyi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company expects the unit \u2014 which includes a sprawling complex in Louisiana that cost $12.8 billion \u2014 to ramp up profitability and contribute as much as $1 billion annually to earnings by 2030. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sasol separated the international chemical business from operations in South Africa and has set targets to strengthen it as a standalone entity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s little interest in listing international chemicals while prices are soft, Baloyi said Monday in an interview. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen the market is looking good on the up cycle, it\u2019s a nice time to do that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chemicals made up about 40% of Sasol\u2019s adjusted earnings in the six months through December. The international business improved to a 13% contribution, with the remainder coming from South African operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n