Johannesburg - SA’s energy department says the state-owned Strategic Fuel Fund has not been cleared to buy 75 percent of Chevron’s refinery.
This is according to Reuters.
“An offer to purchase by an entity of the Department of Energy requires express consent from the Minister of Energy as the ultimate Shareholder representative. This was neither sought nor obtained,” DG at the energy department Thabane Zulu said in a statement, Reuters notes.
On Wednesday, SFF - the guardian of South Africa’s strategic crude oil stocks - said it had made an offer to purchase oil major Chevron Corporation’s South African business, the SFF said in a statement yesterday.
Chevron South Africa owns the Caltex chain of petrol stations as well as a 110 000 barrels-a-day oil refinery in Cape Town. The parent company has put up its 75 percent stake for sale.
Read also: State fund eyes Chevron’s SA business
Should SFF buy the Chevron stake, government will effectively have a presence in the South African fuel retail market,which is currently dominated by Chevron’s international peers, BP and Shell. Malaysian national oil company Petronas owns Engen.
Although it owns a gas-to-liquids refinery in Mossel Bay, national oil company PetroSA does not sell refined fuel products to the public and instead supplies major oil companies operating in South Africa, Business Report reported.
In a statement yesterday, SFF said: “Given the strategically important role that [the Chevron] assets play in South African job creation, liquid fuels production and their national financial impact, and given the SFF mandate to ensure security of supply of liquid fuels, SFF has decided to participate in the sale and expressed interest in the acquisition of the Chevron assets.”
SFF said it expressed its interest in the assets shortly after Chevron’s announcement of its decision. The company said it submitted a commercial offer for the assets to Chevron last Friday.
IOL