Shell completes sale of interest in US Deer Park refinery to Pemex

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Shell Oil Co has completed the sale of its interest in the Deer Park, Texas refinery to its partner, Mexican state energy producer Pemex, for $596m in combined cash and debt, the subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell announced on Thursday.

The sale covers Shell’s 50.005% interest in the partnership, meaning Pemex is the sole owner of the refinery, which has 340,000 bbl/day crude capacity, processing crudes from Mexico, Canada, the US, Africa and South America.

The sales price also includes the value of the hydrocarbon inventory. The final amount for the hydrocarbon inventory will depend on volume measurements and average market prices for the month of January, which is expected to range between $300-$350m, the company said.

Shell announced its intent to sell the refinery in May after Pemex made an unsolicited offer.

In December, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) authorised the sale.

“The completion of this sale marks the start of a new chapter of our history in Deer Park as we’ve worked closely with Pemex over the past few months to ensure a safe and responsible handover of operations for the refinery,” said Huibert Vigeveno, Shell’s Downstream Director.

Shell will continue to own and operate the adjacent Deer Park chemicals complex, which produces ethylene, propylene, butadiene (BD), aromatics, phenol and acetone.

Shell said it has entered into product offtake and crude supply agreements from the refinery with Pemex.

Shell employees at the refinery have been offered employment from Pemex, which will take effect upon closing.