An Esso service station in Ocho Rios, St. Ann, is seen in this March 12 photo. - File

Barbados billionaire Kiffin Simpson is close to finalising a deal with Esso to acquire its Caribbean assets, beating out rival Total SA in a widely watched deal, informed sources tell Sunday Business,.

Simpson, a heavy hitter in the regional automobile market, already owns the Eastern Caribbean operations of Shell, which Simpson Oil Limited (SOL) acquired in 2004.

On Friday, Simpson's Warrens, St. Michael, office said he would not be available for comment before Monday, while Esso's Phillip Calder was said to be out of office.

The head of Total in Jamaica, Luc Maiche, said through an assistant, that the company had "no comment on the matter."

If the deal is executed, it would be the second time that Total would have lost out to SOL, having reportedly bid unsuccessfully for Shell's eastern Caribbean operations that Simpson paid US$200 million to acquire.

The Esso deal, said sources, was struck last week.

details of the transaction

Full details of the transaction are still closely guarded, but Total was said to have bid US$400 million for the Esso Standard Oil network of 200 gas stations in places like Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Haiti, as well as Puerto Rico, an American-owned territory.

Up to mid-year, the SOL bid was not seen as a serious threat to Total's offer, but sources say Simpson, who is a director of big regional bank FirstCaribbean, is usually underestimated as he tends to operate well below the radar.

Energy industry sources said a loss for Total would work in favour of Cool Petroleum Holdings, the Neal & Massey/Cool Oasis consortium that bought up Shell's Jamaican operations in late 2005, beating out bids by Simpson Oil and Facey Commodity.

"Total would have been too big a competitor," the source said.

The French oil company would not have overtaken Shell/Cool Oasis in size, but Esso's 39 stations atop Total's near 30, would have put it in striking distance of the near 90-station network that the consortium controls in Jamaica.

Total expanded its footprint to Jamaica three years ago when it bought out Roy d'Cambre's National brand of gas stations.

Total immediately grabbed market share using a low price strategy.

Heading into the Christmas season last year, however, the marquees of both marketing companies across Kingston and Montego Bay began to reflect near similar prices, indicating that Shell operators had narrowed the gap.

Reached on the weekend, Cool Petroleum's Joseph Issa, said the Simpson-Esso deal, if true, was "excellent news" for the development of Caribbean business.

"The SOL group is part of Caricom and has experience in the industry and excellent standards," Issa told Sunday Business.

Before 2004, the big oil marketing companies domminated the regional service station market, but the acquisitions by Simpson and Neal & Massey/Cool have since localised some of the ownership.

"The petroleum sector in Jamaica is being 'Caribbeanised'," said Issa, "which means the profits will remain in the region and help grow the economy."

Esso Jamaica is said to have a 20-23 per cent market share, while Shell/Cool Oasis, which has the largest islandwide network of about 90 stations, has about 35 per cent.

Total has 25-30 stations and about 15 per cent share.

lavern.clarke@gleanerjm.com