An Esso service station in Ocho Rios, St Ann, is seen in this March 12, 2007 photo. - File
Esso Standard Oil SA Limited yesterday announced that it has signed an agreement with Total Jamaica Limited for the sale of its fuel operations in Jamaica.
Esso said the sale agreement covered all its motor fuels, aviation operations and the network of 37 retail outlets across the island. The value of the sale agreement was not revealed and Esso's country manager, Phillip Calder, yesterday said he was not privy to those details.
However, Calder noted that the sale would not immediately affect its retail dealers until their current contracts with Esso expired and said all products would continue to be distributed by them under the Esso brand for at least the next 12 months when it is expected that the transition would be completed.
Negotiations
The sale of Esso's Jamaican operations has come in the aftermath of reports by The Gleaner that the oil marketing company has been involved in negotiations with Total SA and Simpson Oil Limited for the sale of its Caribbean operations. Although still not confirmed, Total was said to have bid US$400 million for Esso's network of 200 retail outlets in Jamaica, The Bahamas, Haiti and Puerto Rico.
Esso SA Limited is estimated to control between 20-23 per cent of the petroleum market in Jamaica with 37 retail outlets, while Total, which entered the market three years ago, controls about 15 per cent with 25-30 stations across the island.
While not totally surprised by the sale based on previous media reports, president of the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association (JGRA), Errol Edwards, yesterday said the membership who are dealers of Esso were incensed about the sale, especially since the management of the petroleum marketing company - both locally and overseas - have consistently denied reports of the sale.
Edwards, himself an Esso dealer, said they have not yet been officially informed of the sale, but he said members were concerned about the impact the sale will have on their investment in the dealership. "We want to know what has happened to the goodwill that people have built up in the business," he asked.
