LAKE CHARLES, Louisiana,
Aug. 28, 2019 /CNW/ -- Sasol today
announced our world-scale U.S. Ethane Cracker reached beneficial
operation on 27 August 2019. Sasol's
new Cracker, the heart of our Lake Charles Chemicals Project
(LCCP), is the third and most significant of the seven LCCP
facilities to come online and will provide feedstock to our six new
derivative units at our Lake
Charles multi-asset site.
"The Cracker is the cornerstone of Sasol's transformation into a
global chemicals company," said Sasol Joint President and Chief
Executive Officer Stephen
Cornell. "It solidifies our presence in the United States and will anchor our
operations there for decades to come."
Sasol's Lake Charles Ethane Cracker, which uses Technip Stone
& Webster technology, is one of the largest in the world with a
nameplate capacity of 1.54 million tons per year. Approximately 90%
of the Cracker's ethylene output will be further processed into
commodity and high-margin specialty chemicals for markets in which
Sasol has a strong position, underpinned by collaborative customer
relationships.
The ethylene produced in the facility will be used in six
downstream plants on site to produce a range of high-value
derivatives including ethylene oxide, mono-ethylene glycol,
ethoxylates, low density and linear low density polyethylene, and
Ziegler and Guerbet alcohols. Sasol's customers use these products
as ingredients in detergents, fragrances, metalworking and
lubrication fluids, abrasives, paints and coatings, film, food
packaging, personal care products and many more applications and
end-markets. The remaining 10% of the ethylene will be sold on the
merchant market and supply Sasol's share of our high-density
polyethylene (HDPE) joint venture with INEOS in Texas.
The utilities and infrastructure systems that enable the entire
project are fully operational. The Linear Low Density Polyethylene
and Ethylene Oxide/Ethylene Glycol units achieved beneficial
operation earlier this year. The Low Density Polyethylene unit is
expected to achieve beneficial operation by November 2019, while the Ziegler Alcohol,
Ethoxylates and Guerbet alcohol units are on track to achieve
beneficial operation in early 2020.
"With the first three units commissioned, plants representing
more than 60% of the project's total output are now online," said
Sasol Joint President and Chief Executive Officer Bongani Nqwababa. "Our construction and
commissioning teams are working flat out to deliver the rest of the
units between November 2019 and by
first quarter of 2020."
At present the Cracker continues to operate stably at a capacity
utilisation of around 50%. The current output is utilised by the
LCCP's downstream units and the remainder is sold to external
customers. The company will continue to focus on improving
the ethylene quality and ramp up the plant in accordance with our
plans.
To date, the project has generated more than 800 full-time
quality manufacturing jobs, with up to 6,500 people on site during
construction, US$4 billion to
Louisiana businesses and nearly
US$200 million in local and state
taxes.
About Sasol:
Sasol is a global integrated chemicals and energy company.
Through our talented people, we safely and sustainably create
superior value for our customers, shareholders and other
stakeholders. We integrate sophisticated technologies in
world-scale operating facilities to produce and commercialise
commodity and specialised chemicals, gaseous and liquid fuels, and
lower-carbon electricity.
Forward looking statement:
Sasol may, in this document, make certain statements that are
not historical facts and relate to analyses and other information
which are based on forecasts of future results and estimates of
amounts not yet determinable. These statements may also relate to
our future prospects, developments and business strategies.
Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, statements regarding exchange rate fluctuations, volume
growth, increases in market share, total shareholder return,
executing our growth projects (including LCCP), oil and gas
reserves, cost reductions, our Continuous Improvement (CI)
programme and business performance outlook. Words such as
"believe", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "seek", "will",
"plan", "could", "may", "endeavour", "target", "forecast" and
"project" and similar expressions are intended to identify such
forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of
identifying such statements. By their very nature, forward-looking
statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general
and specific, and there are risks that the predictions, forecasts,
projections and other forward-looking statements will not be
achieved. If one or more of these risks materialise, or should
underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may
differ materially from those anticipated. You should understand
that a number of important factors could cause actual results to
differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations,
estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking
statements. These factors are discussed more fully in our most
recent annual report on Form 20-F filed on 28 August 2018 and in other filings with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The list of
factors discussed therein is not exhaustive; when relying on
forward-looking statements to make investment decisions, you should
carefully consider both these factors and other uncertainties and
events. Forward-looking statements apply only as of the date on
which they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to
update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
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SOURCE Sasol Limited