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Vivo Energy, distributors and marketers of Shell-branded fuels and lubricants across Africa, has acquired a majority shareholding in Shell Ghana Limited. The deal was concluded on August 1, said Mr Christian Chammas, Chief Executive Officer of Vivo Energy, on Thursday at a press conference organised in Accra. He said with the addition of Ghana to their portfolio, Vivo Energy now operates in 16 countries. The company, established in 2011 by Vitol, Helios Investment Partners and Shell to distribute and market Shell- branded fuels and lubricants across Africa, is operating in Ghana, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d� lvoire, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda. Mr Chammas said: �Africa is a fast growing continent and our shareholders will invest 250 million dollars over the next three years to take advantage of this growth�. He said Ghana is an important market and a growing economy which is set to benefit from significant developments in the energy sector. �We are acquiring a business with great potential; a long history in Ghana, a high calibre workforce, quality assets and a large and diversified customer base,� Mr Chammas said and pledged their commitment to ensure that the business realises its full potential. He said their intention is to grow the market and retain their position in the year to come saying this would take time but �we will get there�. Mr Chammas said the company planned to open 50 new station sites per year within the three-year period in the 16 countries they operated in. The Chief Executive Officer said the three main focal priorities- education, road safety and environment, are their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) focus for the continent. He said all CSR projects would be around the three priority areas to enable them have a unified approach. Mr Fred Osoro, Managing Director of Vivo Energy Ghana, said their commitment to the Shell brand would not change adding that �for our retail customers, our service stations will continue to be Shell branded and provide high quality products and the highest level of service. For our commercial customers, only the company name has changed�. He said the company in Ghana would continue to meet customers� business needs by ensuring the supply of quality products and by building and maintaining an unrivalled reputation for safety, service excellence and technological leadership. Shell brand has been in Ghana for 85 years and has been the leading marketer of fuels and lubricants.