The company, which announced a plan in September to reduce emissions 30% by 2030, has only confirmed access to about 10% of the natural gas that will be increasingly needed to displace the dirtiest fossil fuel, analysts at Global Climate Insights wrote. Sasol should also provide more information on the potential use of biomass as a lower-carbon feedstock, they said.

“The company has provided insufficient data” for an independent assessment on meeting emissions targets before the annual meeting on November 19, when shareholders will vote on the company’s latest climate change plan, according to GCI.

Sasol wasn’t immediately able to comment on the report. In recent years, the company has been assailed by climate activists and its own investors for limited progress in cutting emissions.

The company has sourced gas by pipeline from fields it developed in Mozambique. But because output from those areas is declining, it’s looking at planned import terminals and the potential for a 2 600km pipeline to northern Mozambique’s mammoth offshore discoveries.

Most of the coal Sasol mines are used for its own operations, but it also exports the fuel and recently hedged that production to benefit from higher prices. Halting such sales could cut by 13% the company’s Scope 3 emissions, which cover the use of its products, and allow Sasol to exceed its target in that category, GCI said.

As part of the transition from coal, Sasol will set up a new business unit, ecoFT, which will focus on developing its proprietary Fischer-Tropsch technology. The company produces about 2.3 million tons of so-called grey hydrogen from coal in its manufacturing processes, which it ultimately wants to replace with green hydrogen made using renewable energy.

SOURCE:

https://www.news24.com/fin24/companies/will-sasol-get-enough-gas-to-replace-coal-20211109