Glencore, Led By South Africa's Gary Nagle, Commits 329 Million To Cleaner Fuels

Glencore's Astron Energy is investing R6 billion 329 million to upgrade its Cape Town refinery, aligning South Africas fuel with Euro 5 standards by 2027.

With refinery closures reducing capacity to 358,000 barrels daily, South Africa now imports 75 of its liquid fuel needsover 19 billion liters in 2023.

Glencore's revenue rose 6 to 230.94B in 2024, but the company is reevaluating its London listing amid valuation concerns.

Glencore Plc, the Swiss commodity trading and mining giant led by South African executive Gary Nagle, is investing up to R6 billion 329 million through its unit Astron Energy to help South Africa meet cleaner fuel standards ahead of a 2027 deadline.

The funds will go toward installing new equipment at Astron Energys 100,000-barrel-per-day crude oil refinery near Cape Town. The project includes a Gasoline Hydrotreating Process designed to bring petrol production in line with Euro 5 standardspart of South Africas long-delayed Clean Fuels II regulations, senior Astron officials said.

South Africa originally planned to reduce sulphur levels in petrol and diesel to 10 parts per million ppm under the Clean Fuels II framework, with a compliance deadline set for 2017. However, delays pushed the requirement to July 1, 2027. We will be supplying compliant fuels at the date asked of us, said Astron Energy CEO Thabiet Booley.

Astron Energy is one of only two operational crude oil refineries in South Africa, a sector that has struggled in recent years. The countrys domestic refining capacity has dropped to around 358,000 barrels per day after the closure and mothballing of two major refineries in Durban. As a result, South Africa now imports about 75 percent of its liquid fuel needsover 19 billion liters in 2023, according to the Fuel Industry Association of South Africa FIASA.

Alongside its refinery upgrade, Astron is expanding its retail network, recently unveiling its 400th rebranded service station in Gqeberha. This milestone marks the halfway point in its plan to transform more than 800 sites across the country.