The Essar Oil UK Group has announced the acquisition of a number of assets from BP to further strengthen its logistics infrastructure network in the UK. Under the agreement, Essar will acquire an equity stake in the UKOP pipeline, a share of the contractual joint venture (with Shell) which runs the Kingsbury terminal and has a 100 per cent interest in the Northampton terminal. With this acquisition, Essar’s investment in the UK has increased to $1 billion, since first acquiring the Stanlow manufacturing complex in July 2011.
In recent years, Essar has broadened its downstream integration by entering the UK fuel retail market. With 67 Essar-branded UK retail sites already operational across England and Wales, the company has plans to grow its network to 400 retail sites over the next five years.