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American oil giant, Chevron, has announced plans to sell off its South African businesses as part of an ongoing divestment programme.

In a press statement released last week, Chevron called for expressions of interest in 75 percent of its South African assets, which include a 110,000 barrel per day oil refinery in Cape Town, a lubricants plant in Durban, and a network of service stations under the Caltex brand.

Oil prices have fallen by over 70 percent in the last 19 months, a development that has forced the global energy industry to slash over $100 billion worth of projects and cut over 250,000 jobs in 2015 alone.

The move by Chevron is part of the company’s three-year $15 billion asset divestment programme, which began in 2014 and has generated over $6 billion so far.

“This demonstrates Chevron's continuing focus on balancing our global portfolio with our long-term business priorities, and it is aligned with our previously announced $15 billion divestment program,” Mark Nelson, Chevron’s president for international products, said in the statement.

Chevron’s divestment programme has already led to the sale of assets in several African countries, including Nigeria. Last year, the company completed the sale of its 40 percent stake in two shallow water offshore oil blocks in Nigeria – Oil Mining License (OML) 83 and 85 – to a local firm, First Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited. Chevron also announced plans to divest its 40 percent stake in OML 86 and 88 located offshore in Nigeria’s Niger Delta basin.

In 2014, Chevron sold off its stake in a Chad oil project to the Republic of Chad for $1.3 billion. The deal included the company’s interest in a pipeline system that transports oil from Chad to Cameroon.

Prior to the launch of its divestment programme in 2014, Chevron had completed the sale of several assets particularly in Nigeria. In 2009, the company sold off its West African downstream business to Nigerian-owned MRS Holdings for $1 billion. In 2013, Chevron sold off its 40 percent stake in three oil blocks – OML 52, 53, 55 – to Nigeria’s Seplat Development Company for about $630 million. This sale has, however, triggered an ongoing court battle between Chevron and the purported highest bidder, Brittania-U Nigeria Limited.

Chibuike Oguh is Financial Nigeria's Frontier Markets Analyst