S.Africa's Sasol awaits outcome on sulphur dioxide emissions proposal

Sasol

22/09/2023 18:00

By Tannur Anders
       SECUNDA, Sept 22 (Reuters) - South African
petrochemicals company Sasol  SOLJ.J  expects the government to
approve its proposed alternative minimum emission standards for
sulphur dioxide, its chief executive told Reuters on Thursday.
    The company has been in back-and-forth discussions with the
government since 2015 when its Secunda operations were granted a
10-year postponement from meeting new plant standard for sulphur
dioxide (SO2) with regards to boilers in the steam plants.
    Sasol, the world's largest producer of liquid fuels and
chemicals from coal, has often been criticised by activists and
environmentalists for not doing enough to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions (GHG). In its 2021 sustainability report, Sasol said
it was the largest single GHG point-source emitter.
    Sulphur dioxide is a pollutant that causes significant harm
to human health and the environment.
    The company has targeted a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050, but reducing its SO2
emissions has been tricky.
    "We're meeting today 98% of our minimum emissions standards.
The one that we're very clear on which we don't meet by 2025 is
our SO2 emissions," CEO Fleetwood Grobler told Reuters.
    But Grobler believes Sasol's proposed solution is better
than what was laid out by the government "and that in the end,
the appeal, for us, would be favourable because we believe the
solution is just better".
    The company now awaits a decision by a forum of technical
experts established by the minister of Forestry, Fisheries and
the Environment, Sasol told investors during a site visit to is
flagship operations near Johannesburg on Friday.
    "The forum has two months to deal with the matter," said
Executive Vice President of Energy Operations and Technology
Simon Baloyi, "So the minister should actually have an answer
from the forum before the end of this year."

 (Reporting by Tannur Anders, Additional reporting by Nelson
Banya; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
 ((Tannur.Anders@thomsonreuters.com;))