Southern Africa: BP sells its gas stations

By on November 16, 2010

The oil giant company British Petroleum (BP) has sold, for nearly 300 million US dollars, all its fuels marketing businesses in several southern African countries to Puma Energy, which is already involved in a number of strategic partnerships in the sub-Saharan downstream sector as a subsidiary of the Trafigura, a Swiss-based multinational.

BP has sold 100% of its assets relating to fuel distribution in Namibia and Botswana, 75% in Zambia, and 50% in Malawi and Tanzania. BP currently has 190 service stations in five countries. The transaction, valued at 296 million US dollars also concerns the distribution activities for aviation fuel. The British group said that the operation had been decided in March, before the explosion of its platform in the Gulf of Mexico, and the sale had not been dictated by the need for certain assets to meet the costs of the spill. BP’s decision to divest these businesses is based on a wider strategy to concentrate its activities in exploration and production. These sales are subject to different regulatory approvals as required by the competition authorities in the concerned countries.

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