China's China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec) has agreed to acquire Chevron’s assets in South Africa for about $900m in a bid to expand its operations.
The assets considered for acquisition include 75% stake in the 100,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery in Cape Town, as well as a lubricants manufacturing plant in Durban.
As part of the deal, Sinopec will acquire more than 800 service stations in South Africa and Botswana as well as storage tanks and oil depot distribution facilities.
The remaining 25% in the South African assets will be retained by local shareholders upon completion of the deal, which is subject to regulatory authorities’ approval.
Sinopec said in a statement: “With this investment, Sinopec looks forward to becoming an integral part of South Africa and Botswana’s local economies.”
The sale is part of Chevron’s three-year divestment program announced in 2014.
Chevron was reported by Bloomberg as saying in an emailed statement that Sinopec was selected “due to the better terms and conditions of their offer.”
Chevron estimates that it needs to invest $1 to upgrade the Cape Town refinery in order to comply with the regulations.
The Chinese company said: “Sinopec intends to enable technological improvements and upgrades for all of the acquired assets to help meet increasing local demand for quality products as well as contribute to the development of the indigenous oil industry."
According to Sinopec, the demand for refined petroleum in South Africa has increased by nearly 5% annually over the past five years, reported Reuters.