Manzano & Vila Consortium to Acquire Raízen‘s Argentine Shell Stations
Buenos Aires - A consortium led by Argentine businessman José Luis Manzano, media mogul Daniel Vila, and Swiss-based energy firm Mercuria has reached an agreement to acquire Raízen’s network of shell service stations and the Dock sud refinery in Avellaneda, Argentina. The deal comes as raízen, a joint venture between Shell (50%) and Cosan (50%), seeks to divest assets following poor financial results in Brazil, including a 70% drop in share value on the São Paulo stock market in the last year, according to CEO Nelson Gomes.
The partnership between Manzano and Mercuria already exists through Phoenix Global Resources, the first company to produce unconventional oil in Río Negro. Manzano owns 6% of Phoenix Global Resources through his firm Andes Energía, with Mercuria holding the remaining stake.
Raízen took full control of the Shell service station licenses and the Dock Sud refinery in 2018, and in 2020 announced a US$715 million investment to expand processing capacity and develop low sulfur fuels.
Several groups, including Trafigura (owner of Puma Energy stations), Vitol, and CGC (from the Eurnekian family), expressed interest in the assets, but the Manzano-Vila-Mercuria consortium presented the highest financial offer.
Mercuria currently holds unconventional concessions in Neuquén (Mata Mora) and Río Negro (Confluencia), totaling 500 square kilometers and producing over 13,000 barrels of oil per day. Including mature assets in Mendoza,the company’s total production reaches 16,000 barrels per day. Mercuria has invested US$550 million in Argentina as 2020 and employs 90 people.
