BP is set to sell five of its African-based marketing businesses to Puma Energy; Chevron is disposing of operations in the Caribbean and Central America.
BP's fuels marketing interests in Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania are set to by bought by Swiss-based Puma Energy for $296m. The first two operations will be sold outright, with 75% of the Zambian business and 50% each in Malawi and Tanzania going to Puma.
The decision to sell the African operations is part of BP's continued rationalisation of its global business and was first suggested in March this year. Puma Energy already has other downstream interests in sub-Saharan Africa and it will share 10% of its latest acquisitions with Angolan petroleum producer, Sonangol.
However, the news was greeted with some concern by some shareholders in the region.
Meanwhile, Chevron has agreed the sale of its fuel marketing and aviation businesses in the Caribbean, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Belize to a subsidiary of French-based petroleum distributors, RUBIS.
The deal, expected to be completed by Q3 next year is to wholly-owned RUBIS subsidiary, Vitogaz, and will include 174 Texaco service stations, equity interest in a refinery, proprietary and joint-venture terminal and aviation facitilities and Chevron's commercial and industrial fuels businesses throughout the Caribbean countries as well as those in Central America.
Similarly to BP, Chevron's decision to sell the operations is part of a global consolidation of its downstream operations.