CHAIRMAN’S COLUMN: ENERGY, THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE ECONOMY

When I look back on Reatile’s achievements in the last few years, I count as some of the highlights the creation of our subsidiaries Reatile Gaz, Vopak Reatile and Reatile Trading.

Energy and in particular the petroleum industry is the lifeblood of this economy and also oils the wheels of progress at all levels.

Reatile Gaz has made significant inroads into the LPG sector in a relatively short space of time, through its acquisitions of both Air Products’; and Engen’s LPG divisions.

Reatile Trading became a leading supplier of wholesale petroleum products to most key petroleum players in the Country, including Sasol Oil.

Furthermore, recognising the importance of storage in the petrochemical sector, Reatile has also formed a successful BBBEE partnership with Vopak, an established leader in the independent storage and handling of liquid oil products, chemicals, vegetable oils and liquefied gases.

Reatile Vopak represents a serious commitment not only to our key customer Sasol Oil, but to the entire petroleum industry, as we are providing mission-critical storage capacity at our terminals in Richards Bay and Durban in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Coega in the Eastern Cape and Jameson Park in Heidelberg, Gauteng, serving the petroleum, gas and chemical markets.

I am excited about the future of the energy sector and the role I see Reatile playing in it. I believe the industry is opening up, particularly for talented and fresh-thinking entrepreneurs. There is substantial growth potential in the energy-hungry economy of the future and working with key players such as Sasol, we plan to be here for the long term in order to develop these opportunities.

With its enormous and sustainable infrastructure growth potential, energy is undoubtedly the most exciting business to be in and right now it is at the forefront in Africa.

WRITTEN BY: SIMPHIWE MEHLOMAKULU

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