MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Exxon has no intention of selling assets in Argentina

Exxon Mobil Corp. said Monday it has no intention of selling its Esso unit refinery, service stations or other assets in Argentina, ending months of speculation about unsolicited purchase offers. Esso has operated in Argentina for more than ninety years.

Esso spokesman Thomas Hess told reporters in Buenos Aires that the multinational had decided to keep those refinery, retail and chemical product operations in Argentina despite earlier reports it was considering offers. Reports that Exxon wanted to sell its refinery and service station assets in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay surfaced last August, although company officials had declined comment at the time. Companies reportedly interested in Esso's Argentine assets included Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras, Venezuela's PDVSA, and several Argentine financial groups involved in energy, telecommunications and airports. According to Hess "the process originally started as a reply to unsolicited bids over the company's assets; the company all along acted positively following a close assessment of internal standards and respecting the interests of shareholders". Among other assets, it has a refinery located in Campana, north of Buenos Aires, 90 directly operated service stations, more than 500 franchise stations, a refinery, and a lubricants plant. Exxon Mobil, through its local unit Esso, also controls an estimated 12% of the Argentine fuel market and operates two gas fields, one in the northern province of Salta and the other in the Patagonian province of Neuquen.