Air Liquide finalizes agreement with Sasol to acquire the biggest oxygen production site in the world with a plan to reduce its CO2 emissions by 30%

Following the announcement on July 29, 2020, Air Liquide has now entered into a business purchase agreement with Sasol for Air Liquide to acquire the biggest oxygen production site in the world located in Secunda, South Africa. In addition to the benefits this would bring in terms of safety, reliability and efficiency, the solution provided by Air Liquide would allow, in coordination with Sasol, a targeted reduction of 30% to 40% in CO2 emissions arising from the oxygen production by 2030.

Under the terms of the business purchase agreement, Air Liquide will own and operate the 16 air separation units (ASU) of this site, with an installed capacity of 42,000 tons/day, in addition to the unit it already operates today. Subsequent to the acquisition, Air Liquide will supply various gases to Sasol’s operation under a long-term gas supply agreement with an initial term of 15 years.

The amount of the initial investment would be approximately 8.5 billion South African Rand (circa 440 million euros).

The agreements are subject to usual suspensive conditions (notably the South African Competition Authority’s approval), which should not be fulfilled earlier than December 2020.