Oando
has agreed to sell a 60 percent stake in its downstream business to
Vitol and Helios Investment Partners for $276 million, the energy
company said on Tuesday.
Oando, which is shifting away from being
a marketer of refined petroleum products into an oil and gas explorer,
completed the acquisition of ConocoPhillips’s upstream oil and gas
business in Nigeria last year.
Its downstream business, with a market
share of 12 percent in Nigeria, will be set up as an independent entity,
but will retain the Oando brand, the company said in a statement. The
consortium will acquire 51 percent of the voting rights.
Oando’s downstream assets include more
than 400 petrol stations in Nigeria and an interest in a bulk
distribution company in Ghana, it said. Oando also has listings in
Toronto and Johannesburg.
Soros-backed Helios has already
partnered with Vitol to distribute Shell-branded fuels and lubricants in
16 African countries and is confident the new deal will capitalise on
the 3-5 percent annual growth in Nigerian demand for oil products.
Nigeria exports nearly 2 million barrels
per day of oil but imports the bulk of its refined products because its
refining capacity is unable to meet its daily fuel consumption of 40
million litres.
Vitol has bought downstream assets such
as storage and refineries in Europe, most recently in conjunction with
Carlyle Group in the Varo Energy venture.
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