Shell to reduce refinery portfolio to six sites from 14

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Shell plans to reduce its refinery portfolio to six sites from 14 by 2025, the company said on Thursday.

The six sites will be in Deer Park, Texas, US; Norco, Louisiana, US; Pernis, the Netherlands; Pulau Bukom, Singapore; Rheinland, Germany; and Scotford, Canada.

Shell sees the six sites as operating as what it called energy and chemicals parks.

The refineries will become integrated with chemicals and increasingly with low-carbon fuels such as biofuels, hydrogen and synthetic fuels, said Ben van Beurden, CEO. He made his comments in an earnings presentation.

These parks will sit alongside Shell’s chemical complexes. These complexes include CSPC, a Chinese joint venture that includes CNOOC; the Fife Ethylene plant, which is a Scottish joint venture with ExxonMobil; Geismar, Louisiana; Jurong Island, Singapore; Moerdijk, the Netherlands; and Pennsylvania Chemicals, a complex being built in the US.

As far as the eight other refineries, Shell is already in the process of divesting some of them, said Curtis Smith, spokesman. Other options include converting them into terminals or closing them.

“Each asset will be reviewed on its merit and applying a value lens,” Smith said.

The other refineries include those in Frederica, Denmark; Puget Sound, Washington, US; Mobile, Alabama, US; Convent, Louisiana, US; and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

The other refineries also include stakes that Shell has in joint ventures. Those include South African Petroleum Refineries PTY LTD (SAPREF) in Durban, South Africa; Miro, Germany; and PCK in Schwedt, Germany.

Thumbnail image by Shell