By Dinesh Nair
DUBAI, May 21 (Reuters) - Chevron Corp is inadvanced talks to sell its downstream assets in Egypt andPakistan, three sources said, with the planned disposals seenraising around $300 million for the U.S. oil major.
Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, is conductinga separate sale process for its assets in both countries, thebanking sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as thematter is not public.
Downstream operations of oil companies include refining andprocessing of crude oil, as well as the marketing anddistribution of products.
The energy firm has received at least three non-binding bidsfor the assets from interested parties, which include regionaland international energy companies, one of the sources said,declining to provide details of the bidders.
Some of the bidders are eyeing assets in both the countries,the source said. Chevron declined to comment.
"They are small assets but are profitable and gaining a lotof interest in the auction process. There are lots of buyers forwhom owning these businesses makes perfect sense," the sourcesaid.
Large oil companies are shrinking their downstreamoperations to focus more on high-margin exploration andproduction activities.
Royal Dutch Shell said in April that it wasconsidering selling some of its Italian downstream assetsincluding its retail, aviation and supply and distributionbusinesses. The company agreed to sell its Egyptian downstreamassets to French energy firm Total, earlier in May.
New York-based oil and gas producer Hess Corp hasannounced plans to exit its retail gasoline, marketing andtrading businesses after pressure from activist investors.
Chevron operates under the Caltex brand in Pakistan and hasmore than 500 petrol outlets in the country. It is also activein the lubricants business.
The oil giant's first-quarter net income fell 4.5 percent to$6.18 billion due to lower oil prices, refinery downtime andhigh operating costs, it reported in April.
Citigroup Inc is advising Chevron on the sale process,according to the sources.
