Adnoc unit targets Africa and Southeast Asia after Shell deal

• Buys South African fuel station network
• ‘Potential platform to go through Africa’
• Sticking to Southeast Asia strategy

Adnoc Distribution is considering further acquisitions in Africa and Southeast Asia following a deal to buy Shell’s South African fuel retail business, a senior executive told AGBI.

The group, a subsidiary of the state-backed Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, announced a $1 billion agreement on Tuesday to buy Shell’s South African network of 580 fuel stations.

Athmane Benzerroug, the group’s chief strategy, transformation and sustainability officer, said the transaction could be a launchpad for more deals on the continent.

“South Africa, being a sizeable network, is also [a] potential platform to go through Africa,” he said. “But we’re also going to be extremely diligent on which countries.”

The company will stick to a previously announced strategy to explore moving into Southeast Asia, he added.

“We are studying both opportunities,” Benzerroug said.

Adnoc, the parent company of Adnoc Distribution, said on Wednesday it had signed a long-term energy security partnership with South Korea to expand cooperation on crude supply, emergency ‌supply coordination and strategic crude storage.

Abu Dhabi-listed Adnoc Distribution has been active in Africa since 2023, when it bought a 50 percent stake in TotalEnergies Marketing Egypt.

The company, which is the largest fuel retailer in the United Arab Emirates, also launched a petrol station network in Saudi Arabia in 2018.

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Shell Downstream South Africa (SDSA) sold nearly 3.5 billion litres of fuel and operated 360 convenience stores in 2025, Adnoc Distribution said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

The business also includes wholesale fuel, aviation and lubricants operations.

Benzerroug said the company would spend money revamping fuel stations by adding more fast-food chains and convenience stores, similar to its model in the UAE.

The buyout is expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. Adnoc Distribution then anticipates selling a 28 percent stake in Shell Downstream South Africa to a local partner and through an employee stock option plan.

The takeover is projected to boost Adnoc Distribution’s earnings per share by 6 percent in the first full year after the acquisition, the statement said.

Adnoc Distribution’s net profit for the first quarter of 2026 rose 21 percent year on year to AED771 million ($210 million).

Bader Saeed Al Lamki, chief executive of Adnoc Distribution, said the deal “reflects our confidence in South Africa as a high-potential, well-regulated fuel retail sector”.

Adnoc Distribution shares were last trading at AED3.95 on Wednesday, up about 1 percent in the year to date.