Investment management company Sakhumnotho has acquired a 26% stake in the privately owned petrochemicals company Refinex and bulk liquid storage company South African Tank Terminals (SATT).

This signifies the arrival of an important new player in the energy market, Sakhumnotho said.

Refinex is a bulk supplier of fuel oils into the energy market and, together with SATT, the company ensures easy access to a supply of products through processing, manufacturing and blending petrochemicals, transportation and storage. Refinex and SATT customers include a range of private sector, as well as public sector, entities.

“Sakhumnotho’s 26% acquisition of Refinex and SATT is hoped to have a positive impact on the entities involved and on the industry as a whole. Refinex and SATT are privately owned businesses with the skill and technology to process various petrochemical streams.

“Matched with Sakhumnotho’s experience in oil and gas through its investment in oil and gas company Total Southern Africa, as well as Sakhumnotho’s network across Africa, the companies aim to consolidate the value chain including supply, storage, transport and delivery to customers.”

In recent times, State-owned enterprises have been faced with a variety of difficulties relating to their operational activities leading to conditions that affect both business and society. There are solutions to be found, including in the renewables sector.

“With the right partners and government support, this partnership could offer and develop cradle-to-grave solutions. An example of this journey already exists in the area of waste, where waste streams are taken from a State-owned enterprise and processed owing to the plant, equipment and licenses already present, with the fuel used by another State-owned enterprise,” Sakhumnotho said.

The deal also provides Refinex and SATT with significant broad-based black economic empowerment credentials because Sakhumnotho is a wholly black-owned company that has diversified investment interests across numerous sectors and the African continent.

“This deal signifies tremendous growth opportunities for both parties. With the strength of these two entities together, we aim to become an important player in the sector, growing our access to markets. Our history in shipping, tankage, processing and storage, combined with Sakhumnotho’s expertise and experience in this sector, will enable us to offer a wider range of possibilities to customers,” says Refinex group MD Gavin Markgraaff.

Further, the deal also promises a boon for the environment. Refinex sources feedstock ranging from virgin oils to waste oils and refines them to produce high-quality furnace fuels and solvents for customers throughout Southern Africa, Sakhumnotho said.

“Recycling waste oil saves these valuable resources and not only prevents them from being dumped and polluting our natural land and water resources, causing untold damage to the environment, but allows them to be re-used. By enabling growth and expansion, Refinex hopes to create greater impact on the environment and prevent waste oil from tainting natural resources,” says Markgraaff.

Sakhumnotho Group president and CEO Sipho Mseleku says the company is excited and proud to be part of Refinex and SATT.

“This deal further deepens our involvement in the oil and gas sector and allows us to play a greater part in the industry’s future. There are real synergies of business, purpose and spirit between the two companies, and we look forward to growing together as we map the journey ahead and create value for all involved,” he comments.