South Africa expands oil-from-coal production

South Africa has begun producing oil from coal at a second synthetic-fuel plant, according to the project's managing director. Johannes Stegmann said that one of seven processing units at the Sasol 2 plant is producing unrefined oil and that full production would be reached by 1982.

Sasol's secret oil-from-coal process has been in operation at Sasol 1, in the Orange Free State, since 1955. Sasol 2 and Sasol 3 are being built at Secunda, about 80 miles west of Johannesburg.