The Shell brand will likely not disappear, however. This has been the case wherever the oil major has divested.
There are forces at work that are way stronger than anything Luthuli House can throw at the economy.No matter the failings – or otherwise – of the ANC-led government, Shell was always going to divest its downstream operations in South Africa. There are forces at work that are way stronger than anything Luthuli House and its merry band of mismanagers can throw at an economy.
In 2016, it got rid of its Danish downstream assets and last year it disposed of downstream assets in Uruguay, Paraguay and Colombia .After “pausing” refinery operations at Sapref in March 2022 – and with little prospect that these will ever be restarted – it was clear that Shell’s remaining operations in the country were effectively on notice.
“However, in March 2017, in the context of regulatory uncertainty linked to clean fuels policies, Chevron announced the sale of its 75% owned refining and marketing affiliate to Chinese National Oil Company Sinopec for US$ 900m.“This opens the door for BP and Shell to sell their South African affiliates, which is expected in the short to medium term.
Petronas, which owned Engen – the largest petrol retailer in the country, announced last year that it would sell its 74% stake in the business to Vivo Energy. Vivo, memorably, was listed on the JSE for a short while. This business was built up over time by the purchase of service station networks across Africa, starting with the Shell transaction in 2011. At the end of last year, it owned over 2 700 sites on the continent.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
South Africa: Surprise Comeback of South Africa's Ex-President Jacob Zuma Could Challenge ANCSouth Africa's ex-president Jacob Zuma is running a visible and noisy campaign for May's elections against his former party, the ruling African National Congress (ANC), another bump on a difficult road for the historical post-apartheid party.
Read more »
South Africa: ANC-Aligned Cosatu Confirms It Is an Enemy of Unemployed South AfricansPress Release - A statement released yesterday by the ANC proxies in labour federation COSATU is a timely reminder that the ANC alliance - composed of the ANC, COSATU and the SACP - is the primary enemy of the 10 million unemployed people in South Africa.
Read more »
South Africa: Codeine Misuse - South Africa Set to Get New GuidelinesIn response to high levels of codeine abuse in South Africa, health authorities have been developing a plan to track the supply of the drug from manufacturers all the way to patients. In this Spotlight feature, Jesse Copelyn explores why people get hooked on codeine, and how the new project could combat the problem.
Read more »
South Africa: How the Mandela Myth Helped Win the Battle for Democracy in South AfricaAnalysis - Political history scholar Jonny Steinberg's 2023 book Winnie & Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage is a double biography of South Africa's most famous political figures - Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela Mandela - and their role in the country's struggle for democracy.
Read more »
South Africa: Never Has a Wise Vote Been More Important to the Future of South AfricaAnalysis - After thirty years of democracy, the heroes of freedom have been replaced by the hyenas of stealing
Read more »
South Africa: 30 Years On, South Africa's Dream of Unity Lies ShatteredThirty years after the end of apartheid, South Africa is looking back on a democratic but deeply divided society. Political divisions have fueled a growing disappointment with Nelson Mandela's liberation party, the ANC.
Read more »