ExxonMobil to Leave Argentine Soil

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas) -- ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), the world’s largest oil company, may sell its assets in Argentina, which include a 84,000 barrels per day refinery located in Campana, Buenos Aires, and its chain of service stations throughout the country that include 90 stations directly owned by the Exxon and over 500 franchised. At present, the American company controls a 12% of the local fuel market. The transaction will be directed by J.P. Morgan Bank (NYSE:JPM), which is already looking for possible buyers within the South American country. The transaction will be carried out at an estimated $200 million. Although ExxonMobil’s spokesman has stated that the company can neither confirm nor deny the information, it has been public that among the possible buyers are Jorge Brito, Macro Bank; Eduardo Eurnekian, AA2000, Airports in Argentina; Werthein Group, Telecom Telephone Company and Marcelo Mindlin from the power company Edenor.

It is also important to stress that Esso, the international trade name for the ExxonMobil, with which the company has operated in Argentina since 1911, will not be included in the commercial transaction. This will force the potential buyer to give the acquired assets (refinery and service stations) a new name. Unlike Repsol YPF, Madrid, Spain, and Petrobras (NYSE:PBR), Esso does not produce crude oil in Argentina, a situation that has made even more evident the lack of feedstock the country, as well as most of the countries in the Southern cone have been experiencing. Political instability and low profitability rates have also been factors that have encouraged such a measure to be taken on the part of the oil company who finds it difficult to commercialise oil in the internal market.

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