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Saudi Aramco made its first move into Pakistan’s retail fuel market by signing a binding agreement to acquire a 40% stake in the oil marketing company Gas & Oil Pakistan (Go), according to an Aramco statement yesterday. Information about the investment size of the potential transaction and the timeframe wasn’t made public.
Expanding its footprint in the Asian retail market: The transaction would strengthen Aramco’s foothold in the Asian energy retail market, especially after closing a downstream supply-chain transaction in July where the subsidiary Aramco Overseas Company acquired a 10% stake in China’s Rongsheng Petrochemical.
Aramco products to jam the shelves of Go outlets: If the transaction goes through, Aramco will sell refined product and Valvoline-branded automotive lubricants in Go’s outlets. Aramco acquired the lubricant unit of the American producer Valvoline back in February, in a transaction worth USD 2.7 bn.
Market reax: Aramco’s share price fell 0.3% to SAR 32.9 a piece at yesterday’s close.
What they said:“Our second planned retail acquisition this year aligns with Aramco’s downstream expansion strategy, with a clear path ahead for growing an integrated refining, marketing, lubricants, trading and chemicals portfolio worldwide. Go has a significant storage capacity, high-quality assets, and growth potential, which will help launch the Aramco brand in Pakistan,” said Mohammed Al Qahtani, Aramco’s downstream president.
Another retail acquisition in the pipeline: The oil giant signed a definitive agreement in September to fully take over Chile-based fuel and lubricants retailer Esmax — the company’s first retail investment in South America. Information about the investment size of the potential transaction and the timeframe wasn’t made public.
What’s Go? The oil marketing company operates a network of 1.1k filling stations outlets across Pakistan with a storage capacity of 200k metric tonnes, selling gasoline, diesel and automotive lubricants, according to the company’s website. It also runs EV charging stations, vending machines, forecourt advertising, currency exchange services, pharmacies, ATMs, and restaurants at its facilities.
Wafi Energy beat Aramco to Shell Pakistan? While Aramco was reportedly mulling a potential bid for Shell’s assets in Pakistan, the European oil major agreed last month to sell a 77% majority stake in Shell Pakistan to Saudi-based Wafi Energy.
