Cosan buys Exxon assets


Brazil's Cosan Lubricants has shown its intent to expand operations across Latin America with new acquistions.

Following the sugar and ethanol producer's purchase of Exxon Mobil's Brazilian fuel and lubricant distribution assets in 2008, Cosan has now acquired the oil major's operations in Bolivia, Paraguay and Uraguay.

The latest deal, for an undisclosed sum, is a clear statement of Cosan's ambition to spread it's operation across the continent.  In Q2 this year, the company's lubricant sales rose 14% to BR230m ($129m) based largely on production from it's Rio de Janeiro plant.

With Cosan already having exclusive distribution rights to the Mobil brand in Brazil, the new acquistion will give the company similar licences for the three Latin American countries and boost annual lubes sales by around five percent.

Supply will continue to come from the Brazilian refinery and will be sold as Mobil product, although Cosan's fuel and lubricants distribution assets are controlled by Raizen, a joint venture set up with Shell last year.