Sasol, the petrochemical company listed on the New York and Johannesburg stock exchanges, released a report highlighting an 8% increase in gas production in Mozambique in the nine months ending in March. This growth was driven by the start-up of four new wells during the year.
Despite this increase, production in the first quarter was 3% lower compared to the previous year, due to lower demand from the company’s downstream operations. Sasol expects to reach the upper limit of its gas target for the year, between 113 and 119 billion cubic feet, after producing 89.7 billion cubic feet in the nine months analyzed.
In the hydrocarbons sector, Sasol’s productivity increased by 4% in the nine months to March. The company completed improvements at the Thubelisha and Shondoni mines, with the final phase of equipping the Impumelelo mine underway. Coal production was 22.6 million tons, slightly down from 22.9 million tons in the previous period.
As for fuels, production volumes in Secunda were 3% higher year-on-year, despite a reduction in volumes in the first quarter due to reduced equipment availability and operational instability. Sasol expects production volumes for the full year to be between 6.9 and 7.1 million tons, down from the initial guidance of 7 million to 7.3 million tons.
Sales of liquid fuels remained stable compared to the previous year, despite oversupply in the South African diesel market. The sales outlook for the year remains between 51 and 54 million barrels, and Sasol is proactively managing the risk of oversupply in the market, relying on the slow recovery of prices and demand for chemicals in the main markets, partly due to the increase in oil prices.
