Sasol Produces Stream of Technology-Driven Project Contracts

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)-- Sasol (NYSE: SSL) (Johannesburg) companies continue to produce a steady stream of technology-driven contracts in sectors ranging from synfuels to chemicals to hydrocarbon resource development.

Sasol-Huntsman, a 50:50 joint venture between associated companies of Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Sasol Limited in Moers, Germany, is planning to expand production capacity at their maleic anhydride manufacturing plant by 45,000 tons per annum (TPA). The new total capacity of 105,000 TPA will represent a 75% increase from the current 60,000 TPA when it goes online in the first quarter of 2011.

The world-scale reactor and purification section will be built on the existing plant site but will be operated independently from the existing plant to ensure continuous product flow without production interruptions, even during scheduled maintenance shutdowns and catalyst re-packs.

Basic engineering and site preparation have been completed. The reactor and other selected major equipment are scheduled to be ordered in early May, and the engineering, procurement and construction/management) contract will be awarded in June. The expanded plant will utilize the infrastructure on the Sasol Solvents Moers site, providing synergies for Sasol-Huntsman and Sasol. The new plant's design is similar to Huntsman's 45,000 TPA plant now under construction in Geismar, Louisiana, that is scheduled for operation in late 2008.

Sasol Technology has selected Foster Wheeler South Africa (FWSA), a subsidiary of Foster Wheeler Limited (NASDAQ: FWLT) (Clinton, New Jersey), to conduct a prefeasibility study for the new proposed coal-to-liquids (CTL) Project Mafutha. The contract will be covered from the $38 million that Sasol has committed to the project's feasibility studies.

A potential location for the 80,000-barrel-per-day greenfield synthetic fuel plant will be included in the study. The CTL process has three key process steps for the conversion of coal into gasoline and diesel. These are: gasification of coal to synthesis gas; Sasol's proprietary low and/or high temperature Fischer-Tropsch (FT) processes; and refinery technology for converting the FT products into fuel products. The project will also include other processing units, utilities and offsite facilities. FWSA's scope for the study will also include the integration of other elements, such as the mining operation, into the overall venture scope.

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