Saudi Aramco, the world’s high oil producer, acquires Primax, a Peruvian gas distributor, for $3.5 billion, insiders reveal in the present day. The deal fingers Aramco management over 2,185 gas stations throughout Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.
This transfer expands Aramco’s attain into South America’s rising power market. The Romero household, a Peruvian enterprise powerhouse, launches Primax in 2002, promoting its first gallon of gas.
They purchase Shell’s Peruvian gas arm in 2004 alongside Chile’s ENAP, constructing a regional big. Now, Aramco takes over this community, together with 180 Listo comfort shops in Peru and Ecuador.
Aramco pays $3.5 billion, securing Primax’s 11 storage terminals, 5 LPG vegetation, and Shell lubricant rights. This follows their 2024 buy of Chile’s Esmax, displaying a transparent southward push.
Yasser Mufti, Aramco’s government, calls Chile a gateway for downstream progress within the area. Primax grows quick, leaping from 120 stations in 2004 to over 2,100 by 2025, dominating Hispanic South America.
In the meantime, Aramco invests in Peru’s LNG by way of MidOcean, holding a 49% stake since 2024. Final 12 months, Primax sells off $64 million in belongings, then snaps up Terpel’s Peruvian models.
Aramco’s Strategic Transfer
This deal issues as a result of South America’s gas demand rises as its economies develop, particularly in transport. Aramco’s money—$440 billion in 2024 income—might modernize Primax, stirring competitors with Petrobras and Ecopetrol.
Nevertheless, Grupo Romero shifts focus, presumably eyeing tech or infrastructure with the payout.
Observers observe Aramco challenges Western giants like Shell and Repsol, doubtlessly decreasing gas costs regionally.
The agency’s 2023 Valvoline purchase for $2.65 billion hints at broader ambitions. Nonetheless, analysts surprise how native gamers will reply to this Saudi heavyweight. The story behind the figures reveals a calculated seize for market share in a resource-rich area.
Aramco secures a foothold the place oil stays king, whereas Peru’s enterprise elite rethinks its future. This acquisition, one in every of Peru’s greatest recently, indicators extra overseas eyes on South America’s power prize.
