PETROBRAS SHOWS INTEREST IN EXXONMOBIL\'S ARGENTINEAN ASSETS . . .
Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petrobras, among others, is to make an offer for ExxonMobil’s refinery in Campana, Buenos Aires.

ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company, is to sell its assets in Argentina, which include a 84,000-bpd refinery in Campana, as well as its chain of service stations throughout the country that include 90 stations directly owned by Exxon and more than 500 that are franchised. The American company controls 12 percent of the local fuel market. The transaction will be directed by J.P. Morgan Bank, which is looking for possible buyers in Argentina.

Esso, the international trade name for ExxonMobil, with which the company has operated in Argentina since 1911, will not be included in the commercial transaction. This will force the potential buyer to give the acquired assets (refinery and service stations) a new name.

ExxonMobil will receive offers for its assets in Argentina until September 24, 2007. Enarsa; Argentina’s state-owned power company, in a joint venture with Venezuela’s PDVSA; Petrobras; and Chevron are among the main interested companies. The transaction is estimated to be $200 million.

In Argentina, Petrobras owns two refineries: the 32,000-bpd Bahia Blanca and the 37,000-bpd San Lorenzo plant, as well as about 700 service stations. Moreover, the Brazilian oil company also has participation in Refinor, which operates the Campo Duran refinery in Salta province (Argentina) and the corresponding 72 stations.

Brazil’s state-owned oil company is deeply interested in the purchase of the Campana Refinery since its acquisition would help Petrobras not only to produce lower sulphur fuel oil by 2009, as stated by the Argentinean Secretary of Energy, but also to get 35 percent in Argentina’s fuel oil production business. (Source: Industrial Info Resources)