Sasol to raise output to 55,000 bpd oil eqv in 3 yrs

CAPE TOWN, Nov 5 (Reuters) - South African petrochemicals group Sasol (SOLJ.J) expects to raise its upstream oil and gas production to 55,000 barrels per day oil equivalent in the next three years from 38,000 bpd, a senior official said on Thursday. Ebbie Haan, managing director at Sasol Petroleum International (SPI), said the company was also on track to raise annual gas output at its Mozambican ventures to 183 million gigajoules (GJ) by 2011, from 120 million GJ.

"SPI has matured from zero to around 38,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent equity over 7 yrs ... we will probably be 55,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the coming 3 yrs and we hope to further internationalise beyond that time," he told an African oil conference in Cape Town.

Haan said the unit has been awarded significant additional acreage in Mozambique, both on- and offshore and the unit, already present in several countries in Africa and also expanding to Papua New Guinea and Australia, would seek to further grow steadily.

Haan also said Sasol flagship Oryx gas-to-liquids plant was operating at design capacity of 32,400 barrels per day. (Reporting by Agnieszka Flak)