Chevron exits New Zealand downstream

OREANDA-NEWS. June 04, 2015. Chevron has raised NZ\\$785mn (\\$558mn) from the sale of its chain of 146 Caltex branded petrol stations and 10 terminals in New Zealand to domestic independent Z Energy.

Z Energy will acquire all of Chevron New Zealand, which also includes 2mn bl of oil product inventories, and a lubricant sales and distribution business. Chevron New Zealand currently buys 67pc of its product from the 139,000 b/d New Zealand Refining (NZR) at Marsden Point and imports the remainder.

Chevron's sale of the New Zealand assets follows the offloading of its Australian assets through the A\\$4.7bn (\\$3.6bn) sale 50pc of its stake in Caltex Australia to Australian institutional investors.

Z Energy was formed as part of Shell's strategy to exit the New Zealand downstream market in 2011.

The deal will not increase Z Energy's stake in NZR, the owner of the country's only refinery. Z Energy will keep its 15.3pc stake in NZR, after Chevron's agreed last month to sell its 11.4pc stake to institutional investors through a bookbuild. Z Energy does gain Chevron's 21pc refining allocation with NZR. BP owns 21.2pc of NZR and ExxonMobil 17.2pc.

Chevron's departure from New Zealand is part of its plans to raise \\$15bn through asset sales in 2014-17, including around \\$6bn it raised last year.