Shell signs agreement to sell Stanlow refinery to Essar Oil

Royal Dutch Shell PLC announced that it is selling its 270,000 barrel-per-day Stanlow refinery in the U.K. to India’s Essar Oil for US$1.3 billion. The transaction includes provisions for an exclusive agreement for a five-year supply of crude oil to Essar. The sale will include oil products, chemical manufacturing and access rights to distribution terminal assets and the commercial fuels bulk fuels and local marine fuels businesses associated with the refinery. It will not include Shell’s higher olefins plant and alcohols units, lubricants blending plant, lubricants marketing business, aviation operations, non-local marine business, marine lubricants, commercial road transport marketing businesses, the bitumen marketing business nor the Thornton technology center. The sale is expected to be completed by the second half of 2011. In addition to the asset sale, Shell will enter into an agreement to supply crude oil to Essar exclusively for five years and to purchase products from Essar in the U.K. over the long term. (March 29,2011)