Sasol Announces Beneficial Operation of World-scale Louisiana Ethane Cracker

Three units now online comprise more than 60% of LCCP's total
output

Lake Charles, Louisiana (ots/PRNewswire) - Sasol today announced
our world-scale U.S. Ethane Cracker reached beneficial operation on
27 August 2019. Sasol's new Cracker, the heart of our Lake Charles
Chemicals Project (LCCP), is the third and most significant of the
seven LCCP facilities to come online and will provide feedstock to
our six new derivative units at our Lake Charles multi-asset site.

"The Cracker is the cornerstone of Sasol's transformation into a
global chemicals company," said Sasol Joint President and Chief
Executive Officer Stephen Cornell. "It solidifies our presence in the
United States and will anchor our operations there for decades to
come."

Sasol's Lake Charles Ethane Cracker, which uses Technip Stone &
Webster technology, is one of the largest in the world with a
nameplate capacity of 1.54 million tons per year. Approximately 90%
of the Cracker's ethylene output will be further processed into
commodity and high-margin specialty chemicals for markets in which
Sasol has a strong position, underpinned by collaborative customer
relationships.

The ethylene produced in the facility will be used in six
downstream plants on site to produce a range of high-value
derivatives including ethylene oxide, mono-ethylene glycol,
ethoxylates, low density and linear low density polyethylene, and
Ziegler and Guerbet alcohols. Sasol's customers use these products as
ingredients in detergents, fragrances, metalworking and lubrication
fluids, abrasives, paints and coatings, film, food packaging,
personal care products and many more applications and end-markets.
The remaining 10% of the ethylene will be sold on the merchant market
and supply Sasol's share of our high-density polyethylene (HDPE)
joint venture with INEOS in Texas.

The utilities and infrastructure systems that enable the entire
project are fully operational. The Linear Low Density Polyethylene
and Ethylene Oxide/Ethylene Glycol units achieved beneficial
operation earlier this year. The Low Density Polyethylene unit is
expected to achieve beneficial operation by November 2019, while the
Ziegler Alcohol, Ethoxylates and Guerbet alcohol units are on track
to achieve beneficial operation in early 2020.

"With the first three units commissioned, plants representing more
than 60% of the project's total output are now online," said Sasol
Joint President and Chief Executive Officer Bongani Nqwababa. "Our
construction and commissioning teams are working flat out to deliver
the rest of the units between November 2019 and by first quarter of
2020."

At present the Cracker continues to operate stably at a capacity
utilisation of around 50%. The current output is utilised by the
LCCP's downstream units and the remainder is sold to external
customers. The company will continue to focus on improving the
ethylene quality and ramp up the plant in accordance with our plans.

To date, the project has generated more than 800 full-time quality
manufacturing jobs, with up to 6,500 people on site during
construction, US$4 billion to Louisiana businesses and nearly US$200
million in local and state taxes.

About Sasol:

Sasol is a global integrated chemicals and energy company. Through
our talented people, we safely and sustainably create superior value
for our customers, shareholders and other stakeholders. We integrate
sophisticated technologies in world-scale operating facilities to
produce and commercialise commodity and specialised chemicals,
gaseous and liquid fuels, and lower-carbon electricity.

Forward looking statement:

Sasol may, in this document, make certain statements that are not
historical facts and relate to analyses and other information which
are based on forecasts of future results and estimates of amounts not
yet determinable. These statements may also relate to our future
prospects, developments and business strategies. Examples of such
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements regarding exchange rate fluctuations, volume growth,
increases in market share, total shareholder return, executing our
growth projects (including LCCP), oil and gas reserves, cost
reductions, our Continuous Improvement (CI) programme and business
performance outlook. Words such as "believe", "anticipate", "expect",
"intend", "seek", "will", "plan", "could", "may", "endeavour",
"target", "forecast" and "project" and similar expressions are
intended to identify such forward-looking statements, but are not the
exclusive means of identifying such statements. By their very nature,
forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties,
both general and specific, and there are risks that the predictions,
forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not
be achieved. If one or more of these risks materialise, or should
underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may differ
materially from those anticipated. You should understand that a
number of important factors could cause actual results to differ
materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and
intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These
factors are discussed more fully in our most recent annual report on
Form 20-F filed on 28 August 2018 and in other filings with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The list of factors
discussed therein is not exhaustive; when relying on forward-looking
statements to make investment decisions, you should carefully
consider both these factors and other uncertainties and events.
Forward-looking statements apply only as of the date on which they
are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise
any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.

ots Originaltext: Sasol
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
In South Africa: Alex Anderson
Senior Manager: Group External Communication
Direct telephone: +27-(0)-10-344-6509

Mobile: +27-(0)-71-600-9605

alex.anderson@sasol.com

In the U.S.: Kim Cusimano
North American Operations Corporate Affairs
Direct telephone: +1-(281)-588-3764

Mobile: +1-(225)-776-0758

kim.cusimano@us.sasol.com

Original-Content von: Sasol, übermittelt durch news aktuell