Oman Oil Company concludes acquisition of Oxea

LONDON (ICIS)–The Oman Oil Company (OOC) has concluded the acquisition of oxo-alcohols producer Oxea from Advent International, the Sultanate’s oil company said on Monday.

The deal, for which the purchase price was not disclosed, was first announced in October.

With the acquisition, OOC said it aims to become a vertically integrated global chemical leader in the downstream industry.

“With its international presence in Europe and North America, leading technology, efficient platform and longstanding experience in the Oxo segment, Oxea will support our further expansion into the chemical sector,” said H E Nasser bin Khamis Al Jashmi, chairman of Oman Oil Company.

“There is a unique opportunity to build an integrated chemical platform in Oman from our current investment base,” said Philippe de Fitte, vice president of OCC’s downstream strategic business unit.

“We see our acquisition of Oxea as the corner stone for this platform by bringing its technology and expertise to Oman and connecting it to feedstock from our investments in Duqm. This will also contribute to Oxea’s expansion strategy, especially in the Asian growth markets while Oman Oil Company benefits from Oxea’s reach into European and North American markets,” he added.

Martina Floel, spokeswoman for the executive board at Oxea, said: “We look forward to working together with OOC which will provide additional access to growth markets in Asia and the Middle East.”

Oxea, one of the largest producers of oxo-alcohols and oxo products in the world was created in 2007 from businesses owned by now US-based chemicals producer Celanese and acquired for €408m by Advent International. They included a joint venture with Degussa, now Evonik.

Currently, it has a production capability of 1.3m tonnes and generated sales of €1.5bn ($2.1bn) in 2012.

($1 = €0.73)