Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, acquired Peruvian fuel distributor Primax for $3.5 billion, according to local media reports. This move expands Aramco’s reach into South America’s growing energy market, as well as its expanding vehicle parc.
The number of vehicles on Peru’s roads is currently small but is growing at about 25% per year from around 3 million currently, according to America Economica.
The Primax deal includes 2,185 fuel stations in Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, as well as 11 storage terminals, five LPG plants and distribution rights for Shell lubricants.
Primax was established in 2002 by the Romero Group, which later bought Shell’s Peruvian fuel retail network in 2004 and soon after Chile’s state-owned energy company Empresa Nacional del Petróleo, or ENAP.
Aramco’s previous acquisitions in the US of companies on the lubricant value chain include the US’s largest base oil refiner Motiva Enterprises LLC in 2017 and the global products business of Valvoline for $2.65 billion in 2023. Aramco is rumored to be eyeing Castrol, BP’s lubricant brand, for $10 billion.