Reliance to offload stake in African oil marketing firm

Our Bureau Updated - January 20, 2018 at 05:56 PM.

French giant Total to lap up RIL’s holding

A general view of a crude oil importing port in Qingdao, Shandong province, November 9, 2008. A Chinese industry body said it could review rules covering the import of crude by new entrants after a private refinery failed to secure financing for 1.5 million barrels of crude it bought, in a blow to Beijing's moves to open up its oil market. Baota Petrochemical Group Co Ltd could not get letters of credit for two crude cargoes worth more than $50 million it bought from commodity merchants Vitol and Mercuria, two traders with direct knowledge of the transactions said. REUTERS/Stringer ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA.

Reliance Industries is selling its 76 per cent stake in Mauritius-incorporated Gulf Africa Petroleum Corporation (GAPCO) to French oil and natural gas company Total for an undisclosed amount.

GAPCO is currently owned by Reliance Exploration and Production DMCC (REPDMCC), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of RIL, and another minority shareholder.

The proposed transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, RIL said. It did not reveal the consideration it will receive from this deal.

GAPCO is a holding company with operating subsidiaries in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda which are primarily engaged in petroleum product import, and trading, storage, distribution, marketing, supply and transportation of oil products in east Africa, the company said. Since the acquisition of 76 per cent equity interest in GAPCO by REPDMCC in 2007, the former has grown significantly and is a leading petroleum marketing company in east Africa, which now operates 108 retail outlets and owns 260 TKL (thousand kilolitres) of storage capacity, according to the statement.

REPDMCC’s agreement to sell its interest in GAPCO is part of a joint transaction, wherein both REPDMCC and the minority shareholder have agreed to sell their entire respective holdings in GAPCO for cash. The net proceeds for the sale will be finalised on completion of the transaction which is expected to be within the coming months, the statement added.

Published on May 31, 2016 11:53