Phase one of Sasol's Fischer-Tropsch wax expansion project (FTWEP) has been successfully commissioned at its Sasolburg operations complex in South Africa, the company announced on Wednesday.

"This is a significant milestone and we are very pleased with this development. It marks another step towards expanding our Southern African operations as part of our dual regional strategy, while demonstrating our commitment to South Africa through industrial investment," said Bernard Klingenberg, Sasol's executive vice president of Southern African operations.

Phase II of FTWEP has commenced with major construction activity already underway. It is expected to be commissioned in the first half of the 2017 calendar year. The entire project will see Sasol invest R13,6 billion in the South African economy.

"Phase I of the expansion of our wax facility in Sasolburg saw 31 million hours worked with an exceptional safety record," said Stephan Schoeman, executive vice president of group technology at Sasol. "Resourced by 450 engineers and with approximately 5,500 construction workers on site, we erected 7,200 tons of steel and used nearly 600 kilometers of piping."

Marketed through Sasol Performance Chemicals, hard waxes, medium waxes, liquid paraffins and waxy oils are applied to a variety of industrial applications. Hard waxes are used in hotmelt adhesives, PVC processing, inks, paints and coatings, and asphalt applications; medium waxes are used in candle markets and emulsions in the manufacturing of construction boards.