Abu Dhabi Adnoc Acquires 10% Stake in Vitol Oil-Storage Unit

(Bloomberg) -- Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. is acquiring a 10% stake in Vitol Group’s worldwide fuel-storage business, boosting its capacity to store and supply crude in key export markets.

The government-run oil producer will make “a strategic investment” in Rotterdam-based VTTI B.V., Adnoc said in a statement, without specifying how much it’s paying for the stake. VTTI owns and operates storage terminals in 14 countries including in Asia, Africa and Europe. Adnoc sells most of its crude to Asia.

Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, holds about 6% of the world’s crude, and Adnoc has invested heavily in oil-storage facilities at home and abroad. The company currently has crude-storage agreements with India and Japan. At the same time, Abu Dhabi is revamping Adnoc’s operations, selling stakes to outsiders to raise cash as it tries to forge an economy less dependent on oil.

“By bringing in Adnoc as a shareholder in VTTI, we’ve got the opportunity now to further expand that company, take it to new markets and bring new opportunities to the three shareholders,” Vitol Chief Executive Officer Russell Hardy said in a Bloomberg TV interview in Abu Dhabi.

Vitol, the world’s biggest independent oil trader, and Australia-based IFM Global Infrastructure Fund will each hold 45% of VTTI, once the deal is completed.

VTTI’s facilities can store about 60 million barrels of oil, and much of the storage “is complementary to Adnoc’s natural trade flows,” according to the statement. The deal will also improve Adnoc’s capabilities at its main storage hub, the U.A.E. port of Fujairah, the company said.

Adnoc has attracted billions of dollars in investments this year, including a $5.8 billion deal with Eni SpA and OMV AG for a stake in its refining unit. In February, KKR & Co. and BlackRock Inc. agreed to invest $4 billion in Adnoc’s oil pipelines.

--With assistance from Giovanni Prati.

To contact the reporters on this story: Mahmoud Habboush in Abu Dhabi at mhabboush@bloomberg.net;Manus Cranny in London at mcranny@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nayla Razzouk at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net, Bruce Stanley, Helen Robertson

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