Johannesburg — FUEL retailer Engen Petroleum yesterday pleaded ignorance to reports Zimbabwean authorities had thwarted its bid to acquire fuel assets in the country.

Engen and Kenyan oil group KenolKobil's plans to buy BP and Shell's Zimbabwe assets have been in the spotlight as various groups in Zimbabwe have alleged that the transaction was in violation of the country's Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act. Engen has denied the allegation.

Engen MD Rashid Yusof, BP Southern Africa chairman Rams Ramashia and BP Africa CEO Sipho Maseko met Zimbabwe's Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere to discuss the deal.

In Zimbabwe, BP and Shell run a network of 75 service stations and bulk storage facilities including a Harare blending plant with a capacity of 30-million litres of fuel a year. Zimbabwe's Herald newspaper yesterday reported that Engen's bid for the assets had been unsuccessful.

But Engen spokeswoman Tania Landsberg yesterday said the company was not aware of such a development.

"We have not been informed by the Zimbabwean authorities that our proposals in respect to compliance with their requirements have been rejected.

"A detailed proposal dated Wednesday November 11 2009 ... was submitted to the Minister for Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment and copied to a number of other ministries and authorities in Zimbabwe. This proposal followed high-level meetings with a number of m inisters and the p rime m inister and senior executives of BP, Engen and KenolKobil in the previous weeks and days.

"No response to this proposal has been received as yet."

The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act prescribes that indigenous Zimbabweans own not less than 51% of all "strategic" businesses in the country.

The legislation, effective last year, allows the Zimbabwe government to prescribe the value to which the a ct should apply.