Turkish company voices interest in buying Petrol Ofisi

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s fuel retailer Opet is interested in buying the shares of Petrol Ofisi and may enter into the process along with Koç Group, which owns a 50 percent of share in Opet, company chair Fikret Öztürk has said.

Answering a question on whether Opet had announced its interest in buying a stake in OMV’s Petrol Ofisi, Öztürk said they will do so, but had yet to formally state their interest, daily Dünya reported.

“We have not declared our interest yet, but we will most probably do together with Koç Group,” he said.

OMV stated in February that it is putting its Turkish subsidiary Petrol Ofisi up for sale as part of its strategy to dispose of non-core assets.

OMV is focusing on growth in its upstream business, which covers crude oil and natural gas production, and its integrated downstream business, covering refining, sales and distribution.

Petrol Ofisi, with its retail station network, no longer fits this strategy, the company said, Reuters reported.