Chevron has concluded the sale of its fuels marketing and aviation business in The Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos to a French multinational energy company.
Vitogaz, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RUBIS, will acquire a network of 39 retail stations, eight aviation facilities, six fuel terminals, one joint operation at the Lynden Pindling International Airport and a commercial and industrial fuels business.
The deal, first announced by Guardian Business back in November, has undergone the appropriate approvals, according to Hector Infante, public affairs manager for Chevron in the Caribbean.
“Chevron does not disclose information regarding the price of the sale of these transactions,” he said.
These assets, according to a release from Chevron, are in addition to another sale by Chevron in July 2011, whereby RUBIS purchased 174 service stations operating under the Texaco brand, an equity interest in an associated refinery operation, propriety and joint-venture terminals and aviation facilities.
While the oil and gas giant continues its retreat from the region, French multinational RUBIS is projecting strong growth in 2012 based on these acquisitions.
The company’s 2011 annual results, obtained by Guardian Business, reveals a “new record” fiscal year with 30 percent growth in volume and 27 percent in net profit.
In 2011, the report also stated that RUBIS spent nearly $331 million in investments and acquisitions, either paid or initiated, providing further clues into the price tag of assets in the Caribbean.
The “promising integration” of the Caribbean zone purchases positions RUBIS as one of the leading independent operators in the region, the report added, with acquisitions in The Bahamas specifically listed as a driver of revenue going forward.
“Following on from these recent years, opportunities for external growth continue to appear, providing the group with new prospects for growth,” it stated.
The response to the high-profile acquisition has been met with less enthusiasm among gas retailers here at home.
Philip Kemp, the president of the Bahamas Petroleum Retailers Association (BPRA), has expressed a measure of concern as RUBIS takes the reigns. Gas retailers have experienced their fair share of problems dealing with Chevron, he told Guardian Business, and worries persist this trend will continue.
Last week, Guardian Business reported how Raymond Claridge, a gas retailer in The Bahamas for more than 22 years, lost a case against Texaco in which he claimed he was evicted without due cause.
Claridge was never given a formal reason for the eviction, and he claimed he was targeted because of his complaints concerning maintenance and his visibility during industrial action against Texaco last summer.
Kemp said the decision could send a message to RUBIS, that it’s acceptable to “cherry pick” operations in the country that don’t play ball.
“You should have the right to question a contract,” Kemp said.
Jeffrey Todd,
The Nassau Guardian
