Sinopec buys first major refinery in Africa for $ 1b

China’s Sinopec will pay almost $ 1 billion for a 75 percent stake in Chevron Corp’s South African assets and its subsidiary in Botswana to secure its first major refinery in Africa, the companies announced on Wednesday.

China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, or Sinopec, Asia’s largest oil refiner, said the assets include a 100,000 barrel- perday oil refinery in Cape Town, a lubricants plant in Durban and 820 gasoline stations and other oil storage facilities.

Chevron Global Energy Inc said in a statement that Sinopec’s bid was selected in part because of the better terms and conditions it offered, including a commitment to operate the businesses as going concerns and the opportunity to reap strategic value for its longer- term strategy in Africa.

The deal, which includes 220 convenience stores across South Africa and Botswana, is subject to regulatory approval.

With a growing middle class, demand in South Africa for refined petroleum products has increased by nearly 5 percent annually over the past five years, to a current total of about 27 million tons, Sinopec said.

Sinopec in 2012 worked with South Africa’s national oil company PetroSA to help develop a new refinery that was shelved due to high costs.

It said it would retain the whole workforce as well as the existing Caltex brand for the retail fuel stations for up to six years before launching a rebranding strategy.

The remaining 25 percent of the South African assets will continue to be held by a group of local shareholders, in accordance with South African regulations.

Reuters reported on Friday that Sinopec was the last remaining bidder in the auction, which lasted more than a year and drew interest from French oil company Total and commodity traders Glencore and Gunvor.