It shouldn’t be surprising that Sasol dominates South Africa’s energy sector. The company was one of the country’s most powerful entities during the apartheid era. And that era of state-sponsored racism forced Sasol to develop the energy technologies that are now among its most valuable assets. Today, Sasol is rapidly expanding its global ambitions while still coming to terms with its apartheid past. In January, the company announced the appointment of another black director to its board. The new appointment of businesswoman Hixonia Nyasulu is the latest effort by the company to meet South Africa’s goals of black economic empowerment. And while the company is making some progress toward including more blacks in its power structure, the company is still seen by many black South Africans as the most prominent symbol of the country’s racist past.

It was racism that forced Sasol to perfect the Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) technology, which was developed early in the twentieth century by German scientists Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch. The F-T process was used extensively by the Germans during World War II, in an effort to overcome the Axis’ motor fuel shortages. Subsequently, South Africa used it to overcome sanctions imposed on it during apartheid – which ended in 1994. For most of its history, Sasol’s primary use of F-T was its coal-to-liquids (CTL) process, which allowed South Africa to convert its vast coal reserves into motor fuel and chemicals. But it’s Sasol GTL technology that makes it a pivotal player in the global energy business. From the Persian Gulf to Russia to Africa, there are tens of trillions of cubic feet of stranded gas. Sasol’s GTL technology can turn that stranded gas into high-value, practically sulfur-free motor fuel that can be transported to any market around the globe.

In addition, Sasol and Chevron, in a deal with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, are building a 34,000 barrels per day GTL plant in Escravos, Nigeria which will begin operating in 2009. Sasol’s also looking at opportunities in Iran and Australia and plans to begin commercializing its CTL technology. It is currently in talks with several Chinese coal companies to build two 80,000 barrel-per-day CTL plants in China.

At present there are few limits to Sasol’s growth potential. But, as in the rest of the energy industry, there’s a talent shortage. Sasol’s deputy chief executive, Trevor Munday, told me that when it comes to expansion, “manpower is the key limiter. We need high-tech people, engineers and scientists.”

Given today’s high oil and gas prices, Sasol may be on the verge of entering what coal giant Peabody Energy is calling “BTU convergence markets” –where customers can purchase a certain amount of energy and have it delivered in a specific form: natural gas, gasoline, jet fuel, or whatever. During the World Petroleum Congress in Johannesburg, Sasol’s general manager of technology, Johan Botha, seemed to follow that idea: “We like to refer to Fischer-Tropsch as a process that we can use to tailor-make different fuels. Show us the fuel you want us to make and we will make it.”

Over the next ten years, the company plans to build about 600,000 barrels per day of new capacity outside of South Africa – an amount that will do little to resolve the global refining pinch. But Sasol is clearly well-positioned, particularly given the fact that its fuel contains no sulfur, a critical factor as more countries around the globe adopt ultra-low sulfur fuel regulations. Further, as long as crude prices stay above $35 per barrel – the profitability threshold Sasol set for its GTL plants– then it appears Sasol will be able to continue its ride into the stratosphere.