MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petrochemicals firm Sasol said it was considering buying a majority stake in Chevron's South African assets, including a 110 Mbpd oil refinery and retail stations, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.
Chevron, which has had a presence in South Africa for more than a century, said in January it would sell its 75% stake in its business in the country after making similar sales in Nigeria due to weak oil prices.
"Sasol is working with Chevron and its advisers in this regard," spokesman Alex Anderson said in an email to Reuters.
The company, which is the world's biggest maker of fuel from coal, is slashing costs due to the plunge in oil prices by shelving major projects and cutting jobs.
Sasol owns coal mines, refineries and service stations in South Africa and exports oil to several regional countries.
"It's a strategic fit as Sasol has been trying to develop its retail footprint in South Africa to get a higher margin for its fuel," Sanlam Private Wealth equity analyst Shiraaz Abdullah said.
As MRC informed previously, in March 2015, Sasol started construction work on its USD8.1bn ethane cracker and derivatives complex in Westlake, Louisiana, US. Said to triple Sasol's chemical production in the US, the petrochemical complex will benefit from domestic ethane supplies, to produce various speciality chemicals for global markets.
Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It develops and commercialises technologies, including synthetic fuels technologies, and produces different liquid fuels, chemicals and electricity.
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