The Central Energy Fund and Sasol have denied reports that there are talks to take over Sasol’s petrol stations, despite the report by Business Day on Monday and a parliamentary committee meeting report supporting the alleged statement.
The Fund’s chair, Monde Mnyande, reportedly told the mineral resources and energy parliamentary portfolio committee earlier this month that it was in serious talks with Sasol to acquire some assets. The subsequent report of the committee also stated that “Central Energy Fund was in discussions with SASOL to acquire some of its assets such as petrol station. CEF did not intend to build new petrol stations.”
In a statement by the Fund, it denied the report and tagged it as malicious. Sasol, which had earlier refused to comment on the report, also denied the existence of talks with the Fund to sell its petrol stations to it.
Even though the chemical and synthetic fuels producer refused to comment on the Fund’s alleged statements and the committee meeting report earlier, the Chief Financial Officer of Sasol, Paul Victor, said on Tuesday, “We are absolutely denying we are having any negotiations with any party about selling any portion of our retail sector. We remain committed to our strategy, which includes growing our fuel retail presence in South Africa.”
The Chief Financial Officer stated that it became important to clear the air as the news had raised eyebrows among the organization’s investors and employees.
With 410 petrol stations across South Africa, making Sasol hold 11% of the regulated petrol market, the company is still going on with its asset disposal programme which is expected to cut costs and raise enough money to pay down its huge debt that was mostly incurred during the building of its Lake Charles Chemicals Project which exceeded its budget by about 45%.
Global low oil prices and uncertainties as to the stability of the global oil market due to the COVID-19 pandemic is not helping the plight of Sasol. Some analysts have predicted the company will make huge financial losses at the end of its financial year in June 2020.
