The Abu Dhabi state oil company’s retail arm, ADNOC Distribution, has bought Shell’s downstream business in South Africa for $1 billion, adding to a string of foreign acquisitions in recent months. The deal hands ADNOC 580 gas stations and a 10% market share in Africa’s largest economy.
In the past year, ADNOC has invested in a Texan LNG project, taken a stake in Argentinian gas blocks, and completed a $16.9 billion takeover of German chemicals firm Covestro. On Monday, it also launched a global LNG trading platform, merging three existing divisions to create one of the world’s largest LNG players. It is targeting 47 million tonnes of annual LNG trading by 2035, equivalent to around 11% of the current global market.
Taken together, the deals show a company trying to remake itself from a Gulf oil producer into a global energy heavyweight — a push that looks more important than ever as the Iran war disrupts its home market. The UAE is already one of the top fuel suppliers to South Africa.