Shell may be about to experience a change of hands. The oil major is reported to be near a deal to sell its entire South African petrol-station network to Adnoc Distribution, the retail arm of Abu Dhabi's national oil company. The reported price is about $1 billion, roughly R16 billion.
What we know
The sale would hand the Abu Dhabi group control of about 600 forecourts, close to a tenth of the South African market. Adnoc became the front-runner earlier this year after talks with commodities trader Gunvor fell through. For Shell, it fits a wider plan to sell assets it no longer treats as core. One caution: nothing is final. Talks are described as advanced, but no agreement has been signed, and both Shell and Adnoc have declined to comment.
Part of a bigger shift
If it lands, the deal continues a quiet reshaping of who owns South Africa's fuel retail. Glencore took over Chevron's Caltex stations in 2018, and Vivo Energy bought Engen, the country's biggest chain, last year. Foreign and trader-backed owners increasingly dominate the pumps.
For motorists, a change of ownership rarely changes much at the pump overnight. The bigger question is what a cash-rich Gulf owner does next with a tenth of the country's forecourts, and an announcement, if the talks hold, is expected within days.
