(EnergyAsia, December 9, Tuesday) — Elf Gas Saigon, a joint venture of France’s Total (85%) and Vietnam’s Saigon Construction Corp (14%), has acquired Saigon Gas Holdings Corporation.

Total said the acquisition will secure its position as one of the leading LPG suppliers in Vietnam, with an increase in gas market share to approximately 15%. It also adds an import terminal in Go Dau to its portfolio.

Saigon Gas is a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) company with fully integrated operations in Vietnam.

As part of the deal, Total will add an additional 20 distributors to its network; will gain importation facilities; and, will be able to optimise supply chain through various operational synergies, enhancing services to its customers.

Thierry Pflimlin, senior vice-president of Total Oil Asia-Pacific, said: “In Asia-
Pacific, Vietnam is one of our key countries for development and this opportunity for growth fits well with our strategy in the region.”

Total has been in Vietnam since the end of the 1970s through exploration and production activities in southern Vietnam. Its downstream activities in Vietnam include businesses in retail, lubricants and LPG.

Total today employs around 400 people in all its Vietnamese subsidiaries.