Oryx Energies agrees to sell its Tanzania fuel business to Amsons Group

Get breaking business news on WhatsApp

Oryx Energies has signed an agreement to sell its downstream oil business in Tanzania to Amsons Group, the Tanzanian business group behind the 2024 takeover offer for Kenya’s Bamburi Cement.

The deal covers the energy group’s retail service stations, storage terminals and fuel distribution infrastructure in the country, Oryx said in a statement dated October 16. Neither side disclosed the price.

Oryx said the sale is part of an “ongoing strategic review of its portfolio of downstream assets in Africa.” It described the transaction as one that transfers “key retail service stations, storage terminals, and distribution infrastructure into local hands.”

Completion depends on regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. Until then, Oryx said it “will continue its activities in Tanzania as usual,” with its focus on customers, partners and the safe delivery of its services.

Oryx shifts to infrastructure and trading

Chief executive Moussa Diao said the company is pulling back from the Tanzanian retail market to put its money elsewhere on the continent.

“This transaction is also an important step in the evolution of Oryx Energies’ strategy, as we seek to focus our capital and efforts on developing energy infrastructure across Africa and strengthening our trading activities. Africa remains at the heart of our business and our long-term ambitions,” Diao said.

He called Tanzania “an important part of Oryx Energies’ history” and said Amsons is “well placed to take this business into its next chapter, building on its existing strengths and creating new opportunities for its employees, customers and partners.” The statement did not say how many stations or staff are involved, or whether any jobs will change.

The announcement covers Tanzania only. Oryx’s group website lists separate affiliate businesses in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Zanzibar, among other markets, and the statement makes no reference to them.

Amsons adds fuel to cement

For Amsons, the purchase adds a ready-made fuel network to a business that already spans cement, fuel trading and logistics. Group Managing Director Edha Nahdi said the deal “marks a transformative step in our strategic vision to expand Amsons Group’s footprint in energy and logistics.”

“Integrating Oryx’s extensive distribution network, storage capabilities, which allows us to strengthen domestic fuel security and anchor Tanzania as a vital regional logistics hub for East and Central Africa,” Nahdi said.

Amsons is well known to Kenyan investors. In July 2024 its Kenyan vehicle, Amsons Industries (K) Ltd, made a KSh65-a-share cash offer for all the shares of Nairobi-listed Bamburi Cement, according to the takeover announcement Bamburi published under the Capital Markets (Take-overs and Mergers) Regulations.

That document describes the parent, Amsons Industries (T) Limited, as a manufacturer, storer and trader of consumer goods including fuel and lubricants, liquefied petroleum gas and grain, and says it operates two cement plants in Tanzania. Among the related companies it lists are Camel Oil (T) Ltd, a wholesaler of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels, and Camel Africa Oil (K) Limited, a Kenyan company whose principal activity is given as a depot storage facility.

The same filing shows a group built around moving goods as well as making them. It lists Camel Gas (T) Ltd, a wholesaler of gaseous fuels; Camel Oil Limitada in Mozambique, which trades fuels; Amsons Haulage Limited and East Africa Warehousing (T) Limited, both in road transport; and Farion Trading Limited, which runs an inland container depot for vehicles.

Oryx’s statement describes the buyer as “a diversified Tanzanian business group with an established presence in the region” that is “well positioned to build on the foundations established by Oryx Energies and pursue further growth opportunities in the Tanzanian market.”

The Oryx assets would sit alongside that existing fuel trading arm. Nahdi framed the deal around Tanzania’s role as a supply route for “East and Central Africa.”

Oryx did not give a timeline for completion or name the regulators whose approval is needed.