Trafigura-Entara consortium to buy French refinery (updated)

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01/08/2024 12:18

(Adds detail)
       Aug 1 (Reuters) - Rhone Energies, a consortium of
commodity trader Trafigura  TRAFGF.UL  and Entara LLC, has
agreed with ExxonMobil's ESSO SAF  ESSF.PA  to buy the
Fos-sur-Mer refinery and Toulouse and Villette-de-Vienne
terminals in France.
    "Discussions with the relevant authorities are ongoing and
the necessary authorisations are expected by the end of
October," Trafigura said in a press release on Thursday.
    The parties signed the sale agreement having completed an
information and consultation procedure with employee
representatives, Trafigura said.
    Trafigura said it would have a minimum 10-year exclusive
crude oil supply and product offtake agreement for the 140,000
barrel per day (bpd) capacity Fos-sur-Mer refinery when it
announced it was in talks to acquire the site in April.
    Trafigura's partner in the deal, Entara LLC, is an energy
infrastructure company that focuses on reducing carbon intensity
of refining assets.
    The deal to acquire the refinery is Trafigura's second major
acquisition this year. It also completed the acquisition of UK
road fuels and biofuel supplier Greenergy on Thursday.
    The acquisition of the Fos-sur-Mer refinery follows a trend
of trading firms picking up physical assets.
    Trafigura also signed a long-term commercial agreement to
supply crude and market products from the ISAB refinery on
Sicily last year, when Russia's Lukoil sold it to private equity
firm G.O.I. Energy.
    Meanwhile, rival trader Vitol agreed to buy a controlling
share of Saras, which operates the 300,000 bpd Sarroch refinery
on Sardinia, earlier this year. 

        
  

 (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad and Sherin Elizabeth Varghese
in Bengaluru, Robert Harvey in London and Julia Payne in
Brussels; editing by Jason Neely and David Evans)
 ((Robert.Harvey@thomsonreuters.com; +447552256587;))