ExxonMobil and Engen announced recently that they have formed a joint venture to sell lubricants in a five-nation region in southern Africa.
The agreement, announced Jan. 16, makes Engen the sole marketer and distributor of ExxonMobils lubes in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho. In addition to the Esso and Mobil brands, Engen will continue to sell lubes under its own brand name, as well as Petronas Syntium.
Engen, based in Cape Town, South Africa, claims 19 percent of the 320-million-liter (84 million gallons) lubricant market in South Africa, which accounts for most of the lube demand in the region covered by the joint venture agreement. Engen is co-owned by Petroliam Nasional Berhad, or Petronas, the national oil company of Malaysia, and Worldwide African Investment Holdings Ltd., a South African holding company.
ExxonMobil has been in the region since the late 1990s and has had its products toll-blended by Engen in Durban, South Africa.
This alliance combines the unique strengths of South Africas leading marketer of petroleum products with a global leader in lubricants, said Roland J. Frey, director of sales in Africa and the Middle East for ExxonMobil Lubricants and Specialties. He said the partnership will give the widest lubricant brand and product offering together with leading-edge technology support.