China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) has signed a US$900 million deal to acquire a 75% stake in Chevron Corp's South African assets, which includes a 100,000 barrels per day refinery and a lubricants manufacturing facility, plus a network of petrol stations and associated retail outlets. The remaining 25% will continue to be held by a group of local shareholders. The deal also includes 100% of the Chevron Botswana assets. The deal still requires regulatory approval.

US oil company Chevron launched a bidding process for the assets last year, with Rothschild as its advisor. South African local news reports Total of France and commodities traders Gunvor Group and Glencore all looked at the assets. Oil trader Vitol was also interested, having acquired Royal Dutch Shell's Australian refineries and petrol stations back in 2014. But Sinopec emerged as the preferred bidder at the end of the twelve-month process.

Sinopec said that it will retain Chevron’s Caltex brand for the petrol stations for up to six years before rebranding them. The company will now operate a network of more than 800 service stations in South Africa and Botswana, plus the associated storage tanks and distribution depots.

Chevron has had a presence in South Africa for more than a century. Its major refinery is located in Cape Town, while the lubricants manufacturing facility is in Durban. In recent years Sinopec has been investing heavily in downstream businesses internationally, and the Chevron acquisition will give it its first refinery in Africa.