Uniper sells marine fuel trading business in UAE

Uniper has reached an agreement to sell its United Arab Emirates-based crude oil processing and marine fuel trading business, Uniper Energy DMCC, to a consortium of Montfort Group and the Private Office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum.

The agreed purchase price has not been disclosed, and the acquisition is expected to be completed in the coming months, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions.

Uniper Energy DMCC started in Dubai in 2015, with the first cargo sale in November 2016. The company is producing and supplying IMO 2020-compliant low sulphur fuel oils to the Fujairah market – the third largest bunker fuel market in the world. The business comprises the operation of a crude processing facility in the Port of Fujairah, which sells over 30m barrels of low sulphur fuel oil to the shipping industry each year, and a trading office based in Dubai, including a team of around 25 people.

Uniper said the divestment was part of the remedies the company must fulfill under EU state aid law. On December 20, 2022, the EU Commission approved the stabilisation package for Uniper under state aid law and set out a number of structural remedies the company must fulfil. On January 16, Uniper announced the divestment of its 20% stake in the BBL gas pipeline as a first remedy measure.