Total South Africa to upgrade lube blending plant and storage depot

Total South Africa announced that it will invest more than R140 million (US$15.4 million) over the next two years to upgrade its lubricant blending plant and expand the storage capacity of its fuel depot, both located at Durban’s Island View Terminal facility.
This decision comes shortly after the company signed a new 15-year lease with the Transnet National Port Authority. It has had a presence at IVT since 1956, just two years after it started its operations in South Africa.
The supply of products from Total South Africa’s blending plant and fuel storage depot will not be interrupted while the upgrade and expansion takes place during 2013 and 2014. Neither of the facilities will be shut down and lubricant stock will be built up at a separate distribution facility outside Durban to ensure that there are no product shortages.
“We see this as a major vote of confidence in South Africa as well as in other countries in southern Africa, as some of the additional lubricants we will be blending will be exported to South African Development Community (SADC) countries, which we see as a growth market for our lubricants,” said Total South Africa Managing Director and CEO Christian des Closières.
The upgrade to the blending facility – which will cost around R50 million (US$5.5 million) ‒ will focus on modernizing filling lines, an on-site laboratory, and improving health and safety features and quality control measures.
The expansion of the fuel storage depot, which will cost around R90 million (US$9.9 million), will lead to 26% of all fuel marketed by Total being stored on the site, compared to the current level of 17%.
Work on the blending plant upgrade and the fuel depot expansion is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.
Total South Africa is 49.9% owned by local shareholders, and 50.1% owned by Paris-based Total SA, which is the leading international petroleum company operating on the African continent.