Sasol cautious on resumption of Iran oil imports
Petrochemicals group Sasol has taken a wait and see stance on the possible resumption of crude oil imports from Iran, following the landmark July 14 agreement, which set the scene for the lifting of sanctions on the country.
Historically, Iran is a major source of crude oil for South Africa. At one stage, it was South Africa’s largest supplier of crude oil.
Sasol spokesperson Alex Anderson said the company has not had any talks about the resumption of crude oil imports from Iran.
Sasol has not imported oil from Iran since 2012. At the time, Iran supplied about 20% of Sasol’s crude oil requirements for its Natref refinery.
“We believe that the process to bring Iran back into the fold of global commerce would be conducive to enhancing global trade in the region. We have not engaged with, nor indicated interest to any Iranian official to resume crude oil imports from Iran,” he said.
The agreement, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, makes provision for the International Atomic Energy Authority to verify Iran's compliance with nuclear-related measures. Once this has happened “and certain sanctions have been suspended, Sasol will reevaluate its options regarding importing of crude oil from Iran”, Anderson said.
He said the company currently imports crude oil on term and spot purchase arrangements from the global markets. At present the majority of Sasol's crude oil is imported from Saudi Arabia and West Africa, Anderson said.
When sanctions’ grip on Iran tightened a few years ago Sasol, which is listed in Johannesburg and New York, was among companies that divested their operations from the country. In 2013, Sasol sold its 50% stake in Arya Sasol Polymer, a joint venture with Iran’s state-owned Pars Petrochemical Company.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation