Gunvor Financed Gabon’s Deal to Buy Oil Producer Assala
- Gabon bought oil producer Assala from the Carlyle Group
- Traders have upped support for oil producers short on dollars
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Commodity trader Gunvor Group helped finance Gabon’s acquisition of Carlyle Group’s Assala Energy, the latest example of independent energy traders stepping in with deals for oil-producing countries in Africa.
The deal for the 45,000 barrel a day crude producer has been some time in the making. In January, Gabon’s national oil company exercised what it said was a preemptive right to the assets after France’s Etablissements Maurel & Prom SA struck a deal to buy the company. The move came just months after a military coup overthrew former leader Ali Bongo.