Sasol Soars On Pipeline Payday: Court Awards $344M in Tariff Dispute

Sasol Limited SSL shares are trading higher after the company was awarded compensation in a High Court ruling against Transnet.

On June 18, the High Court ruled in favor of Sasol Oil and TotalEnergies, awarding Sasol Oil damages of 3.89 billion rand (US$217 million) plus about 2.3 billion rand in interest, for a total of about $344 million.

Transnet SOC Ltd., through its business unit Transnet Pipelines, transports crude oil for Sasol Oil and TotalEnergies SE TTE Marketing Ltd from Durban to the Natref crude oil refinery in Sasolburg.

Sasol Oil holds 63.64% of the shares in Natref, while TotalEnergies holds 36.36%.

Notably, in 2017, Sasol Oil, after TotalEnergies, filed a lawsuit against Transnet for damages caused by its failure to comply with its obligation to set pipeline tariffs for transporting crude oil under a 1991 agreement.

This breach led to Transnet’s overcharging Sasol Oil for crude oil transportation over an extended period.

The litigation between the parties has spanned several years. The remaining issues in the litigation went to trial in the High Court of South Africa from April 15 to May 3, 2024.

Transnet reportedly disclosed its intention to appeal a court decision that awarded Sasol and TotalEnergies around 6.2 billion rand ($344 million) in damages and interest to resolve a tariff dispute, reported Reuters.

Transnet said in a statement, “The judgment thus has enormous implications not only for the public purse but also for Transnet’s ability to discharge its obligations,”

Price Action: SSL shares are up 3.45% at $7.50 premarket at the last check Thursday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.