Texaco names Jamaican assets on sale to GB Group

Oil marketing company Chevron said Wednesday that the pending sale of its Texaco Jamaican assets include a network of 52 retail gas stations, a bulk-fuel distributor and its one-third stake in a storage terminal in Montego Bay.

The company confirmed that it was selling out the rest of its Caribbean assets to GBG Energy Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Gilbert Bigio Group (GB Group), but declined comment on the value of the transaction. The deal is expected to close by the second quarter of next year, suggesting an outside date of June 2012.

"The assets in the sale transaction in Jamaica include an established network of 52 retail stations with strong market share, two aviation joint operations and sales to one FBO (fixed bays operator), a bulk fuels operation, distributing fuels to commercial and industrial customers and a 33 per cent stake in the Jamaica Petroleum Terminals Limited storage terminal in Montego Bay," Chevron spokeswoman Alexandra Valderrama told the Financial Gleaner via email.

The sale encompasses assets in Jamaica, Dominica Republic and St Maarten. It covers 220 Texaco service stations, 10 aviation facilities and three import terminals.

"This sale is part of our ongoing effort to restructure our global downstream portfolio and deliver strong returns for our investors," said Glenn Johnson, Chevron's general manager for Downstream Caribbean in a company statement.

By mutual agreement, the financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed, Chevron added. The transaction is subject to local regulatory and government approvals.

Chevron is one of the world's leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. Chevron Texaco's sell-off of its Caribbean businesses is aimed at reinvesting in faster growth markets which could include Latin America and Asia, the company said last year.

Its Eastern Caribbean and Central American assets were divested last year to Vitogaz SA.

Chevron's phased move out of the Caribbean market followed that of Dutch-owned Shell and American Exxon-Mobil's Esso over the past six years. Texaco Jamaica previously sold off its lubricants distribution business to Guatemalan company Lucalza, which took possession of the operation in November 2010.

The GB Group started over a century ago, operates mainly in Haiti with offices also in Dominican Republic and the United States, according to its website. Its operations span various sectors, including agriculture, construction, consumer goods, energy, environment, infrastructure, telecoms, trading and transportation. The group has more than 2,000 employees.

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