Aramco Eyes Retail Fuel Markets Southeast Asia and Africa

Saudi Aramco is planning to enter the retail fuel markets of Southeast Asia and Africa as the sector enjoy high growth rate in those countries.

According to a report in Arabic daily Al-Eqtisadiah, the company intends to step up its business activities in these geographical areas, which form part of Aramco’s current business and expansion strategy in the future. The company will not ignore the markets that provide the appropriate environment to spread its brands and contribute to the positioning of its products, the report said.

Saudi Aramco has established Saudi Aramco Retail Company (RetailCo) in 2018 to expand its footprint and signed a contract with the French company TotalEnergies in 2021 to set up a 50-50 joint venture to enter the fuel retail market in the Kingdom.

Aramco has already acquired 270 gas stations in the Kingdom, which were owned by Tas’helat Marketing Company and Sahel Transport Company for $1 billion.

Aramco said that it has a clear and effective strategy for the fuel retail markets, which is an extension of its value chain in the refining, chemicals and marketing sector at the global level. The major aspect of this strategy is to spread its brands across various sectors such as retail fuel service stations, providing various fuel products including gasoline and diesel globally.

Exploring Acquisitions

The report also said that the company was pursuing several methods of acquisition to enhance its presence at the global level in the retail sector, in line with the dynamism of such markets and the opportunities available in those regions. The acquisition can either by full or partial, similar to its expansion projects in the refineries sector.

It may be recalled that Aramco has entered South American retail fuel markets by making its first investment in Chile through the acquisition of the local firm ESMAX Distribucion , which operates in the retail sector in that country.

The company also concluded final agreements to acquire a 40% stake in Pakistan Gas and Oil Company, which operates in the retail sale of various types of fuel in Pakistan.