US Firm enters Ethiopia’s fuel-distribution market

September 18 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — U.S. firm Crown Central Petroleum is shortly to enter the fuel-distribution market in Ethiopia, according to local newspaper the Reporter.

The current active operators in the country’s fuel distribution market are Shell Ethiopia, Total Ethiopia, Kobil Ethiopia, a new entrant into Ethiopia and a subsidiary of the Kenya-based Kenol Kobil and a wholly owned Ethiopian company Yetebaberut Beherawi Petroleum (YBP).

Crown, which is headquartered in Maryland, Baltimore, is to enter the fuel-distribution market by purchasing existing fuel stations in the country or by building new ones. An unidentified source told the Reporter that Crown will be “participating at international tenders…issued by the Ethiopian Petroleum Enterprise on an annual or semi-annual basis”. The winning bidder of the tender will then supply the country’s fuel.

Shell Ethiopia (34%) and Total Ethiopia (35%) dominate the domestic market. There are just over 1,000 fuel stations across Ethiopia, but this number is set to increase rapidly with new entrants in the market and investment from current active operators.

(Global Insight)