Synthetic fuels group Sasol has withdrawn its claim against Newcastle Cogeneration, a subsidiary of Ipsa, the independent power plant developer said on Friday.

Ipsa said the claim, which related to a gas supply agreement that was terminated in August 2009, had been withdrawn from the South Gauteng High Court after NewCogen made a R7-million payment. Sasol originally claimed R42.8-million.

The settlement allows a provision of about £4-million in Ipsa’s group accounts to be reversed, reducing trade creditors of NewCogen by a similar amount.

NewCogen made this payment having drawn down the loan offered by Sterling Trust. Ipsa chairperson Richard Linnell said he was pleased that the dispute had been settled as it removed one more uncertainty. “We can look forward to continuing and improving on operations at our power plant in KwaZulu-Natal,” he added.