The two companies contributed immensely to the country's economic growth by supplying fuel through their retail network to the government fleet, and to commercial customers such as mines, transport and construction companies. BP, particularly, has supplied aviation fuel to the country's major airports and also LPG for both domestic and commercial use. Both companies have made a significant contribution in developing homegrown entrepreneurs as retail operators and in turn employing over 2,500 petrol attendants. Given the circumstances Shell's announcement, that the Shell brand will be retained, (albeit as minority shareholder post sale) provided a straw to clutch. In the early 1970's both companies were heavily involved in coal exploration especially in the central part of Botswana led by BP Coal and Shell Coal. In fact, both companies used to have joint operations under the name BP/Shell before going their separate ways. BP and Shell dominated the industry and between them enjoyed a market share of more than 50%, with close to 80 service stations.
The common question asked, centres on the reasons for the exit, and specifically whether the local operations were no longer profitable. On the contrary, the separate announcements by both BP and Shell clearly stated that these were profitable operations. In the same vein, the decision should not be interpreted as a lack of confidence in Botswana as an investment destination. The decision mainly focused on the need for a strategic realignment in search of the next productivity frontier.
