OiLibya buys Shell's Ethiopia, Djibouti operations

ADDIS ABABA, July 15 (Reuters) - Libyan petroleum dealer OiLibya this month bought the retail business of Royal Dutch/Shell RD.AS SHEL.L in Ethiopia and Djibouti for an undisclosed price, a Shell official said on Tuesday.

"OiLibya has formally entered the Ethiopian market, after signing an agreement on July 10, 2008, to acquire 100 percent of Shell's Ethiopia and Djibouti petroleum retail business," Shell Ethiopia official Bahru Temesgen told Reuters.

He declined to reveal the amount of money OiLibya, owned by Libyan holding company Libyan African Portfolio (LAP) Greenco, paid. OiLibya has bought other retail petroleum dealers in Africa, including taking over ExxonMobil's (XOM.N)'s business in Kenya.

Bahru said the sale was consistent with Shell's global strategy to focus on oil exploration and get out of retail business.

Shell's operation in Ethiopia started in 1929 and had built 200 retail service stations across Ethiopia and was covering about 30 percent of Ethiopia's petroleum needs, Bahru said.

Bahru said the agreement between Shell Ethiopian and Djibouti and OiLibya also included retaining all Shell employees.

Two local petroleum distributing companies, the National Oil Company and Yetebaberut Beherawi Petroleum (YBP) plus Kenya's Kobil and Nile Petroleum are in the Ethiopian market. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/ ) (Reporting by Tsegaye Tadesse; editing by James Jukwey)