BP divests from petrol station and charging business in the Netherlands
The fact that BP intends to give up its petrol stations in the Netherlands already leaked out last autumn. The oil company has now made it official that it has concluded an agreement with the energy company Catom to transfer its approximately 300 Dutch petrol stations – but that’s not all: the charging infrastructure business in the Netherlands, which is managed under the BP Pulse label, is also to be sold in its entirety to Catom. This includes the charging stations operated at the petrol stations as well as 15 independent charging hubs, eight charging parks currently under development and the associated Dutch fleet business.
The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. For Catom, a growing fuel and lubricant distributor based in Breda in the Netherlands, the deal means a rapid expansion of its petrol station brand OK. With the acquisition, Catom will have more than 400 retail locations. The OK label has a long history in the Netherlands: The originally Swedish brand was introduced to the Dutch market in the 1950s and has been part of the Catom Group since 2004.
For BP, the sale of its Dutch charging and petrol station network is part of a 20 billion dollar divestment plan that has been announced for some time. In its Q1 annual report, the company announced its intention to realise three to four billion dollars through sales in 2025. Disposals worth USD 1.5 billion had already been contractually secured or completed at that time. The petrol station network in Austria, which the oil company intends to sell this year, is also expected to contribute to the revenue.
“We have built a high-quality retail and convenience business in the Netherlands but as we look to focus our downstream as part of a reset bp, we believe a new owner is best placed to take our Dutch business forward,” explained Emma Delaney, EVP customers & products, bp.
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