South African petrochemicals company, Sasol, said it is eyeing potential expansion into Angola, Ghana and Tanzania but Mozambique remains its immediate focus in Africa.
Sasol reported a 14 percent increase in full-year earnings boosted by higher chemical prices and a weaker rand but still short of analysts’ expectations. David Constable, chief executive officer, Sasol, said that nine of the 17 largest gas discoveries in the last five years were in sub-Saharan Africa and Sasol saw huge hydrocarbon potential in the region.
“Our first priority is Mozambique,” Constable said adding that “Angola, Ghana onshore and Tanzania, those types of countries is where we’ll take a run.”
Sasol is conducting a study to build a gas-to-liquid (GTL) plant in northern Mozambique with Italian oil and gas group Eni and Mozambique’s national oil company, EmpresaNacional de Hidrocarbonetos.
Tanzania has made big natural gas discoveries off its southern coast and hopes to use its deposits to end chronic energy shortages. As of April, the government said Tanzania’s natural gas discoveries stood at 46.7 trillion cubic feet.
Sasol said the economic outlook in its domestic South African base “remains challenging as the country is still recovering from a five-month long strike in the platinum sector, with business and consumer confidence levels remaining low.”
