Chevron Nigeria set to take over South Africa’s Sasol gas plant 

South African petrochemical firm, Sasol, Wednesday declared its intention to sell off its indirect interest in the Escravos Gas-To-Liquids (EGTL) asset in Nigeria to Chevron.

The company, which is currently the world’s top producer of motor fuel from coal, did not mention the value of the deal according to Reuters but gave its assurance of support to the operations of the EGTL plant through ongoing catalyst supply, technology and technical support.

Situated around 100 kilometres southeast of Lagos, the Escravos asset gets its gas from a gas plant owned by Escravos but run by Chevron.

Similar divestment actions that will see Sasol sell its stakes in the Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Investment Company and Central Termica de Ressano Garcia gas-fired power plant in Mozambique are in the pipeline.

Read also: BUSINESS ROUNDUP: Chevron’s divestment; downsides of border closure. See other stories that made our pick

Sasol announced the possibility of disposing around $2 billion of its shares in a bid to settle its debt after a plunge in oil prices and worries over the coronavirus pandemic.

The Escravos gas plant is a product of the joint venture between Sasol and Chevron, which was 76% complete as of June 2011, with the former contributing the leading technologies component of the project.

The project, estimated at $8.4 billion, forms the core of the owner’s entire gas programme, comprising regional gas sales via the West Africa Gas Pipeline, domestic natural gas sales and international sales of EGTL products.

Essentially, the gas plant processes natural gas into top-quality environmentally friendly fuel, diesel and GTL naphtha products.

Opinions