Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) suppliers Easigas and Reatile Gaz are pleased to announce that they have entered into an agreement to merge their respective Southern African LPG operations in order to create a truly regional player. Engineeringnews reports

Easigas is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rubis Group in France, and has operations in South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana while Reatile Gaz, is a black owned and managed company with diverse interests in the Southern African energy sector having LPG operations in South Africa and active in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, is ultimately owned 55% by Reatile Group (Pty) Ltd and 45% by Engen Petroleum Ltd.

The merging; in which Easigas parent company Rubis Group would hold a 60% interest and Reatile Gaz the remaining, was intended at improving efficiency and reliability of supply to customers through the companies’ combined LPG supply and distribution infrastructure as well as further enhance transformation in South Africa’s energy sector, as it would position a black-owned and -managed company as a key player in the Southern African LPG market.

However, the merger is subjected to the approval of all relevant competition and other authorities.