WASSA, a subsidiary of black- and women-owned Wasaa Group, yesterday acquired the East London Terminal, bp Southern Africa’s liquid bulk fuels import terminal, in a key milestone in South Africa’s energy sector’s transformation journey.
The financial details of the deals were not disclosed.
Wasaa said the deal would significantly entrench their position as an emerging commodity trader in the region and underscored bpSA’s long-standing commitment to energy sector transformation.
In terms of the deal with bpSA, Wasaa Terminals took over full operational responsibility of the terminal, effective December 6 last year. In line with the agreement, Wasaa Terminals has also acquired 100 percent of the terminal’s movable assets and a 20 percent stake in the berth to terminal pipeline.
Speaking from the East London terminal handover ceremony on Thursday, Wasaa Group founder and managing director Nokwanele Qonde said, “This transaction is a manifestation of the hard work the management team has put in place since we started our operations in 2009. The conclusion of this deal fits in snugly with our strategic objectives of being the leading provider in logistics, gases, trading, chemicals, and commodities in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
“We firmly believe that this historic transaction will serve to deepen transformation in the petrochemicals industry and serve as a catalyst for meaningful women participation in the industry,” Qonde said.
The long-term commercial contract entered into, provides synergies for both Wasaa Terminals and bp Southern Africa. For its part, bp Southern Africa has retained operations of its transport business operating out of East London, while the Wasaa Terminals will provide terminal storage and handling services to bp Southern Africa.
Wasaa will also provide the aggregation service to other B-BBEE companies.
bpSA chief executive Taelo Mojapelo said, “This infrastructure transaction is an important contribution by bpSA towards the country’s efforts of empowering black and women-owned entrepreneurs in the energy sector.”
This landmark deal also comes against the backdrop of a Memorandum of Understanding that the Wasaa Group signed with Petromoc, a state-owned and second largest oil and gas firm in Southern Africa, to upgrade and operate the utility’s LPG storage facilities in Mozambique.
Qonde said that their plans for the terminal included immediately upgrading the terminal and doing the projects that enticed them.
“One of them is the LPG facility and the potential of that facility and its infrastructure. There already is a sphere which is a vessel for LPG storage that we are planning to upgrade. We will bring it into operation and increase the capacity so that this terminal can actually be a key importing infrastructure for LPG,” Qonde said
She said that they believed that the time was right to bring the rail infrastructure there, which was decommissioned a long time ago, back into operation to help send products to other provinces like the Northern Cape and the Free State.
She said that this was because rail was one of the key transportation modes in the industry, hence their integration with the national Department of Transport.