Page 6 - LatAmOil Week 21 2021

LatAmOil COMMENTARY LatAmOil

Buyers emerge for

Shell’s refineries

News of two separate US refinery sales by Shell

emerged over the past week, with Mexico’s

Pemex being one of the buyers, while there
were also reports of a bid on a third refinery

INVESTMENT ROYAL Dutch Shell’s efforts to whittle down its company spokesperson as saying the super-ma-
refining portfolio are bearing fruit. This week, jor was actively evaluating options for Convent,
WHAT: two separate sales involving Shell’s refinery oper- including the possibility of selling the facility or
Three separate ations in the US were announced, while reports opting to retain it.
developments relating to also emerged of a bid for a third refinery.
sales of Shell’s refineries On May 24, the super-major said it had Buyer interest
in the US emerged over agreed to sell its 50% interest in Deer Park Whatever happens to Convent, it is clear from
the past week. Refining Limited Partnership to its partner in this week’s events – and also the super-major’s
the joint venture, PMI Norteamerica, a subsidi- agreement to sell its Puget Sound refinery in
WHY: ary of Mexico’s Pemex. Washington State to HollyFrontier earlier this
The super-major is This was followed by a May 26 announce- month – that there is interest in buying Shell’s
whittling down its ment that three Shell subsidiaries had reached refineries. This is timely, as the company is trying
refining portfolio as it an agreement to sell the Mobile Chemical to decarbonise and was ordered by a Dutch court
seeks decarbonise its refinery in Mobile, Alabama, to Vertex Energy this week to drastically accelerate its greenhouse
operations and respond Operating. gas (GHG) emissions reduction efforts.
to demand trends. Separately, Reuters reported on May 24 that While Shell will appeal against this ruling, it
American Clean Energy Refining (ACER) was will nonetheless continue pursuing decarboni-
WHAT NEXT: bidding to buy Shell’s idled Convent refinery in sation, and considers shrinking its refining port-
The Deer Park refinery Louisiana, which had been shut in December. folio to be part of this push. The super-major
will be the first that A separate Reuters report cited ACER’s CEO, said late last year that it would reduce its global
Pemex will solely own and George Dabbs, as saying his company had pre- refining operations from 14 plants at the time to
operate outside Mexico. viously bid for Convent but that this offer had six, over an unspecified timeframe. The remain-
been rejected by Shell. ing six plants will be transformed into “high-
Reports about the ACER bid are conflicting, value energy and chemical parks” that will be
with some suggesting that the second bid has integrated into Shell’s petrochemical business,
also been rejected already, while others said it said at the time.
it was still under consideration. Shell has not The company anticipates that demand for
addressed the bid directly, but Reuters cited a petrochemicals will grow. Meanwhile, demand

Shell is still deciding
what to do with the
shuttered Convent
refinery in Louisiana.

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