JSE-listed SacOil is in talks to acquire a South African fuels wholesaler that owns and operates a substantial fleet of heavy-duty tankers, the company announced Thursday.
The wholesaler sells fuel products, namely diesel, petrol and paraffin, on a bulk basis to its customers operating within industrial markets.
Once concluded, SacOil’s acquisition will materially impact the independent oil and gas junior’s turnover, providing the company with additional market share in the downstream oil and gas wholesale market, which complements its existing upstream assets, such as the producing Lagia oilfield in Egypt.
The SacOil board believes that the proposed acquisition aligns with the company’s strategy of focusing on cash generating opportunities across the oil and gas value chain and that it will significantly increase the volumes of petroleum products sold by the SacOil group of companies, while providing SacOil with the opportunity to achieve economies of scale with the recently acquired Afric Oil business.
SacOil in March acquired a 71% interest in Africa Oil Group, one of the largest independent fuel distributors in South Africa.
Following this acquisition, SacOil’s portfolio now comprises production activities in Egypt; exploration in Malawi, Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo; a crude trading allocation with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company; and fuel distribution operations in Southern Africa.
SacOil noted that the integration of the Afric Oil business was progressing well and that an operational update would be issued before August 31.