Astron Energy

Astron Energy is a South African fuel and lubricants company operating a refinery in Cape Town and a network of service stations. The company was rebranded from one of the largest existing forecourt networks and reimagined as a fuel brand. Astron Energy’s Cape Town refinery processes crude oil delivered by tanker to Saldanha Bay via pipeline, converting it into LPG, petrol, jet fuel, diesel and fuel oil through distillation, hydrotreating, cracking, reforming and sulphur removal processes. Approximately 40% of crude oil produces high-quality fuels; remaining components are further processed using a Fluidised Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCC), Platformer and Isom Units to convert low value product to high value product. Final products are blended and stored in tanks for distribution via tanker, truck or pipeline throughout South Africa.

Astron Energy is committed to safety, quality and environmental protection. The refinery has a full-time, on-site industrial fire department with a fire chief, fully trained and certified firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), and operations-based Shift Emergency Response Team (SERT) members. The company has implemented a Quality Improvement Programme to ensure transportation fuels meet performance expectations, are delivered on time, and are manufactured safely and in an environmentally sound way. All employees take responsibility for achieving the objective of a safe working environment and zero safety and environmental incidents.

The refinery is located between residential communities in the Cape Town area. Petroleum refining is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the world; Astron Energy complies with required national and local laws protecting human health and the environment and regularly engages with oversight agencies to stay abreast of global regulations. The company has implemented an energy efficiency program to reduce refinery energy requirements by between 10-20% by 2023. Water is essential to operations; 80% of water needed for the refinery process comes from recycled water from a local treatment plant. The company has installed and operates an onsite reverse osmosis unit that purifies water to refinery standards. A programme is in place to reduce water released to the ocean after effluent treatment; currently the company is able to recycle between 60-70% of water destined for the ocean using imported technology. The company has been segregating general waste at source for a decade, diverting recyclable material away from landfill sites and providing raw material to third party recycling facilities.

Astron Energy has achieved Level 1 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (Level 1 B-BBEE) status for six consecutive years. The company’s Branded Marketer Programme places over 58% of the retail network in the hands of entrepreneur investors with an average of 80% Black ownership, developed to allow new Black entrants to participate in the petroleum retail market. The Astron Energy Development Fund (AEDF) supports small and medium-sized enterprises in the fuel and lubricants value chain, providing preferential rate development loans and business development support including training and mentoring in leadership, strategy, marketing, safety standards, finance, tax and legal services. The AEDF has three flagship programmes: Growing Emerging Businesses supporting new or existing small businesses in the fuel and lubricants value chain with priority to beneficiaries from disadvantaged groups, with Black-owned businesses in refinery by-products (LPG and Bitumen) and retail sectors as a focus area; Small Business Support providing distress or bridging finance for key small business suppliers and retailers from disadvantaged groups; and Growing our Communities, focused on communities in and around Astron Energy facilities and key customer facilities, partnering with ORT SA and gold Youth Development Agency to develop life, digital and entrepreneurial skills in targeted high school students and unemployed youth.