Sasol’s Secunda Operation (SO) and its oil refinery business Natref had unplanned disruptions that impacted fourth-quarter production, and volumes fell below guidance.
The fuels-from-coal and chemicals group said in a production and sales report for the year to June 30 that Natref, one of only two crude oil refineries still operating in South Africa, saw a stronger performance in the fourth quarter, with production recovering after a fire incident in the previous quarter; however, it was then hit by an unplanned Eskom power outage.
A decision in the third quarter to reduce the group’s own production of coal and supplement it with higher-quality purchased coal saw SO’s gasifier performance enhanced in the fourth quarter of the 2025 financial year.
Liquid fuels sales increased, supported by higher production and purchases. “We…expect to meet the majority of our financial guidance for the 2025 financial year, with volume guidance achieved across most business segments.”
SA gas sales also improved, driven by better customer demand. In Chemicals Africa, the average basket price was higher over the previous quarter.
In the International Chemicals business, revenue was supported by higher sales volumes from improved US production. This was partly offset by lower sales prices in the US due to lower ethylene market prices and product mix effects; however, pricing in the Eurasia segment improved through a priority on value realisation.
Revenue decreased compared to the prior year, primarily due to lower sales volumes, which remained within market guidance. Despite a challenging environment, adjusted EBITDA improved compared to the prior year, reflecting the benefits of higher average sales basket prices and proactive management actions.
“Our focus on self-help initiatives continues to strengthen our foundation, build resilience, and mitigate the impacts of global volatility and geopolitical uncertainty. We are making good progress,” directors said in the statement.
The destoning project to improve the quality of coal was progressing well and on track for completion in the first half of 2026, within schedule and at a cost of less than R1 billion.
Sasol Oil received a net payment of R4.3bn on June 30, 2025, as full and settlement of the legal disputes with Transnet.
On June 30, State Oil, the parent company of Prax South Africa (PraxSA) which owns a minority stake in the Natref refinery, was placed under administration. Natref continues to operate to plan, and engagements with PraxSA were ongoing to understand the implications..
The previously communicated mothballing/closing of certain plants was progressing, with production already stopped at the Guerbet plant in Lake Charles in the US and the Alkylphenol site in Marl, Germany.
The closure of the Phenolics plants in Texas and the mothballing of the HF LAB plant in Augusta, Italy, would follow in the first half of 2026.
In June 2025, Sasol concluded an additional 160 MW of renewable energy (RE) power purchase agreements (PPA) in SA, which includes 150 MW as part of the Ampli Energy joint venture with Discovery, scheduled to commence in the 2028 financial year.
Collectively, these agreements increased Sasol’s access to 920 MW of RE in SA. At the end of June, a PPA was signed in the US to source 93 MW of RE, which would cover about 50% of the electricity consumption at the group’s Lake Charles facility by the middle of the 2027 financial year.
Natref commissioned the first of three low-carbon boilers in May 2025 to support emissions reduction and produce 30 000 litres of renewable diesel. The financial results for the year are expected to be published on August 25.
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