Chevron to sell Spanish fuel business to Cepsa

US oil giant, Chevron is selling its Spanish fuel, lubricants and aviation supply agreements to one of Spain's largest energy companies Compañía Española de Petróleos (Cepsa) for an undisclosed sum.

California-based Chevron yesterday said that it is selling its Spanish fuels, finished lubricants and aviation businesses and the lubricants blending plant in Valencia.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cepsa will acquire 62 Texaco-branded service stations in the Canary Islands, a storage facility at the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Chevron's aviation supply agreements with 11 airports, the lubricants blending facility in Valencia and finished lubricants sales and marketing operations in Spain.

Chevron had said in March 2010 that it would sell certain operations in Europe, including the Pembroke refinery in the UK, the Caribbean and select Central America markets as part of restructuring of its global refining business. (See: Chevron to sell downstream assets, cut 2,000 jobs)

Chevron, like many other global integrated oil companies, barring Chinese and Indian oil companies, has been hit by an overcapacity in crude refining bought on by recession and the high price of crude last year, which has curtailed demand for petrol, diesel and jet fuel as consumers reign back on spending as well as the use of alternative clean fuel.

The oil giant had in November last year sold its fuels marketing and aviation businesses in the Caribbean and Central America to Vitogaz SA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of French international downstream petroleum company Rubis.