Glencore refinery in South Africa invests in cleaner fuels

Astron Energy, an affiliate of the global commodity trader Glencore will invest up six billion rands ($328 million) in order to install new equipment, and to become compliant with South Africa’s cleaner fuel specification before a 2027 deadline.

Astron officials have said that the foundations for a Gasoline Hydrotreating Process, which will reduce petrol to Euro 5 specifications has already been laid in the 100,000 barrels a day crude oil refinery near Cape Town.

The Clean Fuels II regulation in South Africa, which stipulated that the sulphur content in petrol and diesel must be reduced to 10 parts-per-million (ppm), had been scheduled to take effect in 2017, but has now been delayed until July 1, 2027.

Thabiet BOOLEY, CEO of Astron Energy, told legislators during a Wednesday visit to the facility that "we will supply compliant fuels by the date requested."

Astron Energy, one of two crude oil refineries that operate in South Africa has seen its domestic refining capability halved from around 500,000 barrels per day to 358,000 after the closure of the two biggest crude refineries in Durban.

According to FIASA, Africa's most developed economy imports 75% of the liquid fuel it needs. This is estimated at 19 billion litres by 2023.

According to the Strategic Fuel Fund (the state agency responsible for securing strategic crude supplies at Saldanha’s storage terminal), South Africa has less than 21 days' worth of reserves available in the event of an emergency.

As part of its efforts to boost local refinery capacity and address concerns about supply security, the government purchased the Sapref Durban 180,000 bpd crude oil refinery, which had been the largest in the country before it was mothballed and badly damaged by floods in 2022. $1 = 18.2682 Rand (Reporting and editing by David Evans; Wendell Roelf)

(source: Reuters)