One of the Oldest Oil Fortunes Weighs Split With Fossil Fuel

Gulbenkian said it received a bid for oil and gas unit Partex
Sale would follow Rockefeller family funds disposals in 2016

Pipework used for processing oil sit at the Repsol SA refinery in Cartagena, Spain, on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015. Since the oil-market slump started in mid-2014, the lower cost of crude has boosted profits for refiners and helped companies including Repsol to buoy earnings.
Photographer: Angel Navarrete/Bloomberg

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By Joao Lima and Javier Blas

February 2, 2018 at 12:59 PM UTC

Updated on

February 2, 2018 at 7:38 PM UTC

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The guardian of one of the world’s first oil fortunes, made by striking exploration deals across the Middle East a century ago, said it’s holding talks about the sale of its investments in fossil fuels.

The Lisbon-based Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation said it received an offer for its Partex Oil & Gas unit. While the fortune is a shadow of its value in the 1950s-to-1970s -- the heyday of Middle East oil exploration -- the Partex assets were still worth $720 million at the end of December 2016, according to the unit’s accounts.