Aramco to Acquire 25 Percent in Philippine Fuel Retailer

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Aramco) has signed agreements to buy a 25 percent stake in retail network operator Unioil Petroleum Philippines. Inc.

The oil giant plans to use the Filipino company to market its brand and retail offerings including Valvoline lubricants in the Southeast Asian country.

Subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, the purchase “aims to capitalize on anticipated growth of the high-value fuels market in the Philippines”, Aramco said in an online statement.

Unioil, founded 1966, has 165 retail stations and four storage terminals across the archipelago, Aramco noted.

“Our international expansion aims to capture additional value and enhance our participation in vibrant economies, in collaboration with established partners”, commented Yasser Mufti, Aramco executive vice president for products and customers.

Unioil chief executive Janice Co Roxas-Chua said separately, “We are confident that this [the partnership with Aramco] will equip ourselves in accelerating our growth and development, further innovate, and strengthen our position as a leader in the wholesale and retail fuels market”.

Neither company disclosed the value of the transaction or gave an expected completion date.

Last year Aramco acquired a Chilean fuel retailer and entered Pakistan’s fuel retail market.

Aramco obtained a 40 percent stake in Gas & Oil Pakistan Ltd. (GO). GO operates over 1,200 retail outlets in Pakistan offering diesel, gasoline and lubricants. It also has about 200,000 metric tons of oil storage capacity, according to information on GO’s website.

Aramco also debuted in the South American fuel retail market by taking over Esmax Distribución SPA from Southern Cross Group. Esmax manages over 280 service stations in Chile as a licensee of Brazil’s state-owned Petróleo Brasileiro SA, Esmax says on its website.

In 2023 Aramco acquired Lexington, Kentucky-based Valvoline Inc. for $2.65 billion.

In Southeast Asia, before the Philippine transaction, Aramco was said to have been in talks to acquire Shell PLC’s station network in Malaysia.

However, the British rival said it had no plans to give up its retail presence in Malaysia.  Shell has over 950 fueling stations in Malaysia serving nearly one million customers a day, giving it the biggest share in the nation’s fuel retailing sector, according to information on Shell’s Malaysia website.

“Malaysia is important to Shell”, Shell said in a statement May 7, 2024. “We remain committed to the mobility business in the country”.

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