An Esso fuel station in Singapore.
Courtesy of ExxonMobil
Chandra Asri Pacific—controlled by Indonesian tycoon Prajogo Pangestu—has agreed to buy ExxonMobil’s Esso-branded fuel service stations in Singapore, expanding its reach in the city-state where it owns and operates an oil refinery and petrochemical facilities.
Under a share purchase agreement, a special purpose vehicle wholly-owned by a subsidiary Chandra Asri will acquire the assets, Chandra Asri said in a statement without disclosing financial details. The transaction is expected to be completed by end 2025, subject to regulatory approvals, it said. Esso has 60 petrol stations in the city-state, according to its website.
The deal comes after Chandra Asri’s majority-owned joint venture with Glencore completed in April the purchase of Shell’s refinery and petrochemical assets in Singapore at a reported price tag of about $1 billion.
“Our expansion into Singapore’s retail fuels ecosystem represents a strategic step in shaping an integrated platform for regional growth,” Erwin Ciputra, president and CEO Chandra Asri, said in the statement. “Singapore’s robust fuel retail network and business environment provide a compelling foundation for Chandra Asri to advance as a transformative energy, manufacturing and infrastructure solutions leader in Southeast Asia.”
Jakarta-listed Chandra Asri and its Singapore-based unit Aster Chemicals and Energy together operate an integrated oil refinery and advanced downstream petrochemical manufacturing infrastructure in the city-state. Apart from its Singapore expansion, Chandra Asri is building a facility to manufacture caustic soda, a key ingredient used in making batteries for electric vehicles, outside the Indonesian capital.
Chandra Asri is part of Barito Pacific, a timber company that Pangestu transformed into an energy and petrochemicals giant. Pangestu is Indonesia’s richest tycoon with a net worth of $44 billion based on Forbes’ real-time data. His interests include coal mining firm Petrindo Jaya Kreasi which went public in 2023.