Sasol’s future transformation and black economic empowerment (BEE) plans received approval from the minister of minerals and energy in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Company CEO Pat Davies met Minister Lindiwe Hendriks to discuss the company’s future role in BEE initiatives.
”This was my first meeting with Sasol. I was briefed by Mr Pat Davies on Sasol’s transformation plans, as well as on a wide range of other pertinent issues, and I must say I am very pleased,” said Hendriks in a statement.
Davies said the Uhambo joint venture — which will see a BEE company benefiting from Sasol’s liquid-fuels business merger with Engen — was the main issue under discussion.
”The component of Uhambo will exceed all other BEE transactions in the oil industry combined,” said Davies.
”The BEE partners that will hold 25% shareholding in Uhambo are Worldwide Investment Holdings and Tshwarisano LFB Investment.”
He said an important characteristic of the Tshwarisano BEE transaction is that rural women occupy prominent positions in the projects.
One of Uhambo’s first projects will be to construct a new petroleum-products pipeline from Durban to Johannesburg to Pretoria.
”To support sustainable BEE, the Uhambo deal will be integrated along the value chain from crude oil procurement to petrol station, as required by the Liquid Fuels BEE Charter,” Davies said.
The initiative will also ensure that many of the former shareholders of Excel, the BEE fuel company initiated by Sasol 10 years ago, will be shareholders in the new venture.
Hendriks and Davies also discussed how Sasol and the government could jointly contribute to issues such as skills development, capacity building and economic growth.
”Sasol also pledged support for a Department of Minerals and Energy initiative to promote education and career development opportunities for the youth, women, the disabled and other vulnerable groups,” said Davies.
”We [Sasol] also highlighted Sasol’s roll-out of integrated energy centres in rural areas.”
Among those, the company will be involved in the department’s training programme at Olifantsfontein in Gauteng.
The programme includes a career guidance centre to encourage the development of mathematics, science and technology.
That will be done through exposure of the students to careers and skills in the fields of minerals and energy.
The minister said she is pleased to see that Sasol has risen to the challenge to develop skills.
”We [the department] issued a challenge to the oil industry to support our efforts to develop relevant skills and invest in historically disadvantaged groups, and we are very pleased to see that Sasol had responded.”
Sasol and the department will be involved in ongoing talks to ensure that Sasol delivers on the plans discussed, said Davies. — Sapa