Air Liquide to Acquire and Operate the Biggest Oxygen Production Site in the World, and to Reduce by 30% Its CO(2) Emissions
July 29 2020 - 1:40AM
Dow Jones News
Regulatory News:
In line with its plan to reduce its emissions of CO(2) , Sasol
has signed an exclusive negotiation agreement for Air Liquide
(Paris:AI) to acquire the biggest oxygen production site in the
world located in Secunda in South Africa. In this context, Air
Liquide would operate the 16 air separation units (ASU) of this
site, with an installed capacity of 42,000 tons/day, in addition to
the unit it already operates today, and would launch a multi-year
plan to modernize these facilities. In addition to the benefits
this would bring in terms of safety, reliability and efficiency,
the solution provided by Air Liquide would allow, in coordination
with Sasol, a targeted reduction of 30% to 40% in CO(2) emissions
arising from the oxygen production by 2030. The amount of the
initial investment would be approximately 8.5 billion South African
Rand (circa 440 million euros).
Present on the site since 1979, Air Liquide has supported Sasol,
an integrated energy and chemical company for many years. A major
industrial player, Sasol is at the heart of a particularly critical
ecosystem for the economy of the country. Air Liquide has built and
sold to Sasol the 16 air separation units the Group is acquiring
today, in addition to the unit it directly operates. A multi-year
investment and modernization plan is associated with this deal.
The parties aim to negotiate final agreements within the next
months. These agreements will be subject to approval by the
relevant authorities.
Outsourcing oxygen production to Air Liquide would improve
safety, reliability and efficiency, in particular from an energy
standpoint thanks to the implementation of highly mastered
operational practices, state of the art technologies, modernization
investments and digital capabilities to optimize the management of
these assets and the energy consumption. In addition, it is the
intention to secure large quantities of renewable energy in line
with the call for tenders which has been put out by Sasol to supply
the Secunda site with 600 MW of renewable energy. The
implementation of all these solutions would allow Air Liquide to
reduce by 30% to 40% the CO(2) emissions linked to oxygen
production by 2030, in line with Sasol's commitment to lower its
carbon footprint.
Benoît Potier, Chairman and CEO of Air Liquide, said: "The
acquisition and operation of all the oxygen production units of the
Sasol Secunda site represents a key step in the long term
relationship we have had with Sasol for 40 years, and we are
pleased to be able to reinforce it for the years to come. It will
enable new teams to join those of the Group already present on
site. In line with our strategy and our know-how, this operation
illustrates our intent to act as of now in favor of the climate and
local ecosystems. It will allow both Air Liquide and Sasol to focus
on their core business, combining operational efficiency and
reduction of CO(2) emissions.
Climate action is at the heart of Air Liquide's growth strategy
and our Climate Objectives are the most ambitious of our sector.
Our capacity for intervention is wide and goes from renewable
energy based hydrogen or oxygen production to energy efficiency
programs on existing sites. Solutions exist and we will continue to
champion these worldwide. Now is the time to act."
Fleetwood Grobler, Sasol President and CEO said: "We have
embarked on a journey to reposition Sasol of the future as a more
resilient and sustainable enterprise. In the short-term, a number
of measures has been developed and one of these measures is the
acceleration of our asset divestment programme to streamline our
portfolio by focusing on core assets. While this transaction is in
line with this review and has important commercial benefits there
are very clear and compelling strategic objectives -- one of the
most significant being the pursuit of decarbonisation not only for
the ASU operations but for the whole of Sasol's Secunda Operations.
This transaction is more than a business transaction. We welcome
Air Liquide as one of our partners in our decarbonisation journey
and we are pleased to continue and strengthen our longstanding
association with them."
A world leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry
and Health, Air Liquide is present in 80 countries with
approximately 67,000 employees and serves more than 3.7 million
customers and patients. Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are essential
small molecules for life, matter and energy. They embody Air
Liquide's scientific territory and have been at the core of the
company's activities since its creation in 1902.
Air Liquide's ambition is to be a leader in its industry,
deliver long term performance and contribute to sustainability. The
company's customer-centric transformation strategy aims at
profitable, regular and responsible growth over the long term. It
relies on operational excellence, selective investments, open
innovation and a network organization implemented by the Group
worldwide. Through the commitment and inventiveness of its people,
Air Liquide leverages energy and environment transition, changes in
healthcare and digitization, and delivers greater value to all its
stakeholders.
Air Liquide's revenue amounted to 22 billion euros in 2019 and
its solutions that protect life and the environment represented
more than 40% of sales. Air Liquide is listed on the Euronext Paris
stock exchange (compartment A) and belongs to the CAC 40, EURO
STOXX 50 and FTSE4Good indexes.
www.airliquide.com
Follow us on Twitter @airliquidegroup
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CONTACT: Corporate Communications
media@airliquide.com
Investor Relations
IRTeam@airliquide.com
SOURCE: Air Liquide
Copyright Business Wire 2020
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July 29, 2020 01:25 ET (05:25 GMT)
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