Oil Majors and Traders Vye for Shell’s South African Assets
Shell is divesting from its downstream operations in South Africa, attracting interest from major oil traders and national oil companies.
Saudi Aramco, ADNOC, Trafigura, and other major players are in the race to acquire Shell’s gas stations and other downstream assets.
This divestment is part of Shell’s global portfolio realignment, while traders and NOCs seek to expand their presence in the African market.
Oil trading giants and the national oil companies of some of the Middle East’s biggest oil producers are in the race to buy Shell’s South African service stations as they look to expand their access to downstream assets.
The world’s largest oil firm and oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Abu Dhabi, ADNOC, Oman’s OQ Trading, and international trading giant Trafigura are interested in buying Shell’s gas stations in South Africa, sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg this week.
Trafigura and the Middle Eastern NOCs are joined by South Africa’s Central Energy Fund, which owns state oil and gas firm PetroSA, as well as Sasol, in the race for Shell’s service stations, according to Bloomberg’s sources.
Shell said earlier this year that it is preparing to divest from downstream operations in South Africa as a result of an internal portfolio review.
OPEC+ To Delay Oil Output Hike For 2 Months
Shell holds a majority share in Shell Downstream SA (SDSA), which was formed by the merger agreement between Shell South Africa and Thebe Investment Corporation a decade ago.
Shell is retaining its upstream assets and even plans to drill ultra-deepwater wells offshore South Africa, looking to expand the recent discoveries off Namibia into South Africa’s west coast.
However, the UK-based supermajor is reshaping its global downstream portfolio and the South African assets are up for sale.
Trafigura already has a presence in Africa with its unit Puma Energy.
Shell is retaining its upstream assets and even plans to drill ultra-deepwater wells offshore South Africa, looking to expand the recent discoveries off Namibia into South Africa’s west coast.
However, the UK-based supermajor is reshaping its global downstream portfolio and the South African assets are up for sale.
Trafigura already has a presence in Africa with its unit Puma Energy.
Engen, the owner of the biggest gasoline stations network in South Africa, was sold last year to Vivo Energy, a subsidiary of the world’s largest independent oil trader, Vitol Group.
Trafigura and Sasol were also in competition to buy Engen, but Vitol won the race.
Trafigura, Vitol, and the other major independent traders have been snapping up refineries and retail network assets that the biggest international oil and gas producers are divesting as part of strategic portfolio realignment.
In this way, commodity traders gain direct access to a refinery to which they can send part of the crude they sell and become larger players on the crude options and futures market to hedge their exposure to physical crude oil.
In recent months, the largest independent oil trading houses have acquired several refineries from Big Oil worldwide in consortia with other companies.
Vitol Group signed a deal last year to buy 35% of the Saras refinery in Italy after reaching an agreement with members of the Moratti family.
Trafigura said in April that Rhône Energies, its consortium with Entara LLC, has entered into exclusive negotiations to buy the Fos-sur-Mer refinery and the Toulouse and Villette de Vienne terminals from ExxonMobil’s local unit Esso.
Glencore also made the list of the biggest oil traders buying refineries from Big Oil. In May, Shell reached an agreement to sell its refining and chemicals assets in Singapore to CAPGC Pte. Ltd., a joint venture company between Chandra Asri Capital Pte. Ltd. and Glencore Asian Holdings Pte. Ltd.
The commodity trading industry currently has the means to reinvest strategically in long-term deals and strategic decisions, according to consultancy Oliver Wyman. One winner move for reinvesting the profit windfalls could be to invest in assets, “which gives traders greater optionality and influence over the commodities they trade,” Oliver Wyman said in a report earlier this year.
For their part, the NOCs of the top Middle Eastern producers are looking to buy more downstream assets abroad to either supply crude for refineries or sell their refined petroleum products to service stations.
Saudi Aramco, for example, continues to be on the lookout for acquisition opportunities in the downstream and LNG, a senior executive told Reuters in an interview.
In recent months, Aramco has struck several deals in refining and petrochemicals in China and LNG in the United States and Australia.
Earlier this year, ADNOC bought an 11.7% stake in Phase 1 of NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG export project in Texas, as Abu Dhabi’s national oil company announced its first strategic investment in the U.S.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
Armenia Seeks U.S. Partnership for New Nuclear Power Plant
The Oil Industry’s Evolution From Bush to Biden
The High Price of “Cheap” Green Energy
Download The Free Oilprice App Today
Download Oilprice.com on Apple Download Oilprice.com on Android
Back to homepage
Around the Web
Sponsored
Prepper’s Solar Invention Revealed (12x More Efficient Than Solar Panels?)
Prepper’s Solar Invention Revealed (12x More Efficient Than Solar Panels?)
Solar Switch
Urologist: Many Men With an Enlarged Prostate Do Not Know About This Simple Tric
Urologist: Many Men With an Enlarged Prostate Do Not Know About This Simple Tric
Titan Flow
Simple Trick Helps Restore Vision So Fast, You’ll Throw Away Your Glasses
Simple Trick Helps Restore Vision So Fast, You’ll Throw Away Your Glasses
Vision 20
Takes Father to Nursing Home, Sells House, and Returns to a Shocking Discovery
Takes Father to Nursing Home, Sells House, and Returns to a Shocking Discovery
cleverst
Add Your Site To This Directory
Add Your Site To This Directory
Ethereal Search Engine
The New Normal of Selling a Home Today
The New Normal of Selling a Home Today
Nine Kinds of Ancestors You Could Find on Your Family Tree
Nine Kinds of Ancestors You Could Find on Your Family Tree
Stop Paying Too Much for Your Prescriptions – Compare Prices, Find Free Coupons,
Stop Paying Too Much for Your Prescriptions – Compare Prices, Find Free Coupons,
Heartwarming Reaction From a Couple Meeting Their Rescue Dog for the First Time
Heartwarming Reaction From a Couple Meeting Their Rescue Dog for the First Time
Take on a Challenge: Make Pasta Al Limone at Home
Take on a Challenge: Make Pasta Al Limone at Home
FACEBOOK Twitter LINKEDIN REDDIT PRINT
Tsvetana Paraskova
Tsvetana Paraskova
Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews.
More Info
Related posts
U.S. Oil, Gas Drillers Ease Up As Prices Crash
Toyota Slashes EV Production Goal Amid Global Slowdown
The Oil Industry’s Evolution From Bush to Biden
Leave a comment
Most Popular
Oil Prices Plunge on OPEC+ Production Cut Speculation
Oil Prices Plunge on OPEC+ Production Cut Speculation
Why Oil Prices Fell Back Below $70
Why Oil Prices Fell Back Below $70
The World’s 10 Most Expensive Megaprojects
The World’s 10 Most Expensive Megaprojects
Russia Ships LNG Straight to Storage as Sanctions Bite
Russia Ships LNG Straight to Storage as Sanctions Bite
The High Cost of Cheap Chinese Imports
The High Cost of Cheap Chinese Imports
Oilprice.com Investor Series
Get $567 in Actionable Energy Market Intelligence For Free!
Enter Email
By signing up to our newsletter, you agree for your email address to be shared with our third party mail providers.
Trending Discussions
GREEN NEW DEAL = BLIZZARD OF LIES
Posted by JoMack
As Biden, the President of Climate Change, and Kerry, our fabulous Climate Czar, who just gave…
E-car Sales Collapse
Posted by markslawson
The story below, which appeared in…
Bad news for e-cars keeps coming
Posted by markslawson
The e-car industry does not need more bad news, but it keeps coming anyway. I’ve linked a serie…
Oilprice – The No. 1 Source for Oil & Energy News
More About Us
About Us
Site News
Sitemap
Advertise with us
Site info
Terms & Conditions
Disclaimer
Privacy Policy
Contact Us
© OilPrice.com
The materials provided on this Web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to provide tax, legal, or investment advice.
Nothing contained on the Web site shall be considered a recommendation, solicitation, or offer to buy or sell a security to any person in any jurisdiction.