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The China Petrochemical Corporation, also known as Sinopec, is close to reaching a deal to acquire the South African assets of Chevron, the American oil giant, according to a Reuters report on Friday.

In January of this year, 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. The sale is part of Chevron’s three-year $15 billion asset divestment programme, which began in 2014 and has generated over $6 billion so far.

According to Reuters, Sinopec is the last remaining bidder for the assets in a deal that could reach up to $1 billion. Total, the French oil giant, and commodity traders, Glencore and Gunvor, looked at the assets last year, but have so far failed to reach a deal.

The asset auction has reportedly spanned for more than a year as South African government officials want the eventual buyer to commit to keeping the refinery. Sources told Reuters that buyers prefer to convert the site into a more profitable storage terminal. Sinopec is in talks with the government on ways to keep the refinery running, but talks could still fail.

Founded in 1998, Sinopec is a Chinese state-owned firm and the largest oil refiner in Asia. In 2009, the Hong Kong-listed company acquired Addax Petroleum, the Canadian oil company, which has interests in five onshore and offshore oil blocks in Nigeria.