JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s African Oxygen Limited (Afrox) on Thursday said that it had signed “an import agreement” with Petredec and Bidvest Tank Terminals to ensure security of supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for its customers in South Africa. Petredec is one of the largest global LPG traders while Bidvest Tank Terminals own the current import facility leased by Afrox. Last month, Afrox announced that it would increase LPG imports in anticipation of higher demand this winter, though it did not specify the quantity to be imported.
At that time, Afrox said LPG use was set to spike as households and businesses turned to gas for cooking and space heating as the winter chill set in. Afrox managing director, Schalk Venter, in a statement on Thursday said this agreement was beneficial to Afrox customers as it was providing security of supply in times of shortages. “Afrox now has the flexibility to import large volumes at short notice when faced with short-term unplanned local supply shortages,” Venter said. “It also means improved logistics planning will give Afrox the ability to support our LPG growth agenda in South Africa and other emerging African economies.”
In a similar statement, Afrox also announced that it had gained the contract to supply bulk Nitrogen to Limpopo-based frozen fruits exporter, Westfalia Fruit Products. The 5-year 10-tonnes-a-day contract, based on Linde-patented Cryowave technology, marks Afrox’s continued expansion into this growth sector.
