Statoil is buying Shell's 61 petrol stations in the Baltic states. Twenty-six of the stations are in Estonia, 19 are in Latvia and 16 are in Lithuania.
Statoil is currently the largest company represented in the fuel market in these countries. With the takeover of Shell's stations, Statoil will have a total of 151 stations in the Baltic states. Nearly 1,000 employees work for Statoil in the three countries, 850 of whom work at the service stations.
"Acquiring Shell's stations will put Statoil in a considerably stronger position and help us to improve further the service to our customers in these markets," says Sten Åke Forsberg, senior vice president for Statoil's retail business cluster in the Marketing & Manufacturing business area.
The group has had operations in the Baltic states since the early 1990s. Following a downturn, economic growth is now good in all three Baltic countries, reports Mr Forsberg.
The acquisition is conditional on approval by the authorities in the respective countries. The parties do not wish to disclose the value of the agreement.