Vitol announced it has agreed to acquire a further 50% of VALT, the bitumen joint-venture it established with Sargeant Marine in 2016. On completion, VALT will be 100% owned by Vitol and will be integrated into Vitol’s core trading business.

The acquisition will make Vitol a leader in the trading, storage and marine transportation of asphalt products around the world, with a dedicated fleet of eleven specialised vessels. Volumes are circa 1.4 million metric tons of asphalt per annum, managed from hubs in Asia, Europe and the US.

The transaction is subject to conditions precedent and is expected to close in Q2 2019.

About Vitol

Vitol is an energy and commodities company; its primary business is the trading and distribution of energy products globally – it trades over seven million barrels per day of crude oil and products and, at any time, has 250 ships transporting its cargoes.

Vitol’s clients include national oil companies, multinationals, leading industrial and chemical companies and the world’s largest airlines. Founded in Rotterdam in 1966, today Vitol serves clients from some 40 offices worldwide and is invested in energy assets globally including: circa 18mm3 of storage across seven continents, 480kbpd of refining capacity and 5,000 service stations across Africa, Australia, Eurasia and in Northwest Europe.

About Valt

Valt is a leader in global asphalt trading, storage and transportation. Committed to providing logistical solutions to deliver asphalt to our customers worldwide, we have hubs in Geneva, Houston, London and Singapore and operate one of the world’s largest ISO asphalt container fleets. We handle parcel sizes from 20 metric tons up to 37,000 metric tons and can supply most international grades of bitumen to meet client requirements.