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Shell has signed an agreement with Vitol Africa B.V. to sell its 20 percent shareholding in Vivo Energy for US$250 million. Completion of this transaction is expected during the first half of 2017, subject to regulatory approval.

The deal means that Vitol now holds a 60 percent majority stake in Vivo Energy, with Helios Investment Partners owning the other 40 percent.

Established in 2011, Vivo Energy is the Shell licensee in 16 countries in Africa. The company sells bunker fuel, aviation fuel, lubricants, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and mining fuels and lubricants.

Vivo Energy sells marine fuels and lubricants in Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia and Senegal. The company also delivers marine lubricants in Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique.

As part of the transaction, a long-term brand licence agreement has been renewed with Vitol to ensure that the Shell brand will remain visible in more than 16 countries across Africa.

In a statement, the oil major said the sale was "in line with Shell's strategy to concentrate its downstream operations where it can be most competitive".

Chris Bake, chairman of Vivo Energy and a member of Vitol's executive committee, remarked: "It has been a pleasure to partner with Shell in Vivo Energy. The Shell brand is well known and highly respected across Africa, and Vivo and its customers will continue to benefit from its use. We are proud of what Vivo has achieved to date; a strong commercial performance and excellent HSE, and are looking forward to the next phase of growth."

Tope Lawani, co-founder and managing partner of Helios Investment Partners, commented: "Together, in partnership with Shell and Vitol, we have played a key role in supporting Vivo Energy in its mission to create Africa's most respected energy business. Shell is selling its remaining minority stake in the business while at the same time renewing the brand agreement that has contributed to Vivo's success across the continent. We look forward to continuing to build the Vivo platform across Africa while upholding best-in-class standards and business practices."

Last week, Shell completed the sale of its 51 percent shareholding in the Shell Refining Company (Federation of Malaya) Berhad (SRC) in Malaysia, which includes the 125,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Port Dickson, to Malaysia Hengyuan International Limited (MHIL), a subsidiary of China's Shandong Hengyuan Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (SHP), for $66.3 million.

Other recent downstream divestments by Shell include the sale of downstream businesses in Australia and Italy; a number of retail sites in the UK; and the initial public offering of, and further drop downs to, Shell Midstream Partners L.P. Shell has also agreed the sale of its marketing business in Denmark and Norway, its LPG businesses in France and a 31.2 percent shareholding in Showa Shell Sekiyu KK.

Vitol Group has a 50 percent stake in leading bunker specialist Cockett Group, with Grindrod owning the other half of the business.

V-Marine Fuels - Vitol's physical bunker supply business - currently supplies physical bunker fuel to ships in the ports of Singapore; Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia); Fujairah and Khor Fakkan (UAE); Hamburg and Bremerhaven (Germany); Canaveral, Houston and the Mississippi River (US); Antwerp and Zeebrugge (Belgium); and Amsterdam, Flushing and Rotterdam (Netherlands).