Here’s some big news. Shell is reportedly in talks with Saudi state-owned Saudi Aramco to sell its gas station business in Malaysia. Reuters Reports. The news agency named four industry officials familiar with the matter as sources.
According to one of the sources, talks are said to have started in late 2023 and a deal could be completed in the coming months. Two other sources briefed on the matter valued the deal at around four to five billion ringgit.
With around 950 gas stations across Malaysia, Shell has the second largest gas station network in the country after Petronas, which operates a larger network. According to the report, Shell declined to comment on the talks but said Malaysia was an important country for the company. Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco also declined to comment on the matter.
In addition to its gas station network, Shell also sells industrial lubricants, produces crude oil and natural gas offshore Sarawak and Sabah, and is a joint venture partner in two liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects.
The report said the sale is part of Shell CEO Wael Sawan’s efforts to focus the company’s operations on its most profitable businesses, which apparently no longer includes fuel retail.
It is not known whether the Shell Recharge DC and AC electric vehicle charging network and ParkEasy, in which Shell Malaysia has a 50% stake, are part of the potential acquisition deal – there is likely to be some movement on that front, considering that This will be the case It would be quite strange to keep the Shell branding on Aramco gas stations for this purpose.
According to the news report, the company had indicated it planned to divest 500 gas stations this year and next and was in the process of selling its refinery and petrochemical complex in Singapore. One of the sources told Reuters that the company’s efforts to sell its Malaysian gas station network are in line with its move to sell its Bukom Island refinery in Singapore, which supplies the network.
Saudi Aramco, of course, does not have a retail presence in Malaysia, but owns 50% of the 300,000 barrel per day Pengerang refinery in Johor through a joint venture with Petronas. While Aramco operates gas stations in Saudi Arabia, the company only started doing so in 2019. The company also operates gas stations elsewhere through joint ventures with French player TotalEnergies and South Korea’s S-Oil Corp.
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