South African Government reaches agreement on public interest issues on the potential acquisition of control of Chevron South Africa by Chinese company Sinopec; Company commits to invest R6 billion in South Africa; move hailed as part of deeper and bolder economic inclusion measures – transaction is now subject to final regulatory consideration and resolution of a Right of First Refusal by minority shareholders.
Sinopec – one of China’s largest state-owned companies – has undertaken to invest R6 billion in South Africa to upgrade and modernise the Cape Town-based oil refinery owned by Chevron South Africa, a subsidiary of US company Chevron, if it succeeds in its bid to acquire control of Chevron South Africa, and to use South Africa as its base to expand its African refining and downstream businesses.
Chevron’s South African assets include an oil-refinery in Cape Town with a name-plate capacity of 100,000 barrels a day, a lubricants blending plant in Durban, storage tanks and distribution facilities as well as about 850 fuel service stations trading under the Caltex brand. The company employs about 1,200 workers directly and it reports that it supports about 56,000 jobs indirectly. Sinopec made an offer to buy the company’s local assets for US $900 million. –Politics Web/
