Shell Welcomes Potential Buyers for Bakersfield Refinery - Reiterates Reasons for Announced Closure of Facility
April 06 2004 - 8:23PM
PR Newswire (US)
Shell Welcomes Potential Buyers for Bakersfield Refinery -
Reiterates Reasons for Announced Closure of Facility HOUSTON, April
6 /PRNewswire/ -- Shell Oil Products US today said it welcomes
discussions with potential buyers of the Bakersfield Refinery but
reiterated its reasons for the planned closing of the refinery in
October. Shell announced in November of 2003 that it would be
closing the facility in October of 2004. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990716/SHELL ) "Since so many
people have questioned if the refinery is for sale, I want to make
it clear that it is, and to state unequivocally that we are willing
to sit down with any credible buyers to discuss such a deal," said
Lynn Elsenhans, President and CEO of Shell Oil Products US. "We
still believe, however, that once potential buyers take a close
look at the facility and its available crude supply, that they will
reach the same conclusion that we have. That this refinery is not
economically viable going forward for a number of reasons,
including the cost and availability of the crude needed to run the
facility." Elsenhans stated that the facts on which Shell based its
decision to close the refinery have not changed. "This is a
land-locked refinery, which because of a decline in its crude
source -- San Joaquin Valley heavy crude from the Kern River Field
-- makes its continued operation no longer economically viable."
Shell also restated its commitment to supply its branded customers
with gasoline and diesel. "We understood that there would be many
questions and we wanted to have the time needed to properly answer
and respond to those questions. That is why we announced the
closure 11 months ahead of time," said Elsenhans. Elsenhans
alsocommented on recent press and other reports questioning Shell's
motives and reasons for closing the refinery. "Today, certain
internal documents regarding the operation of the Bakersfield
Refinery have been made public by a California special
interestgroup. We are disappointed that these documents were
publicly released, but note that they do show that the Bakersfield
Refinery lost money in 2001 and 2002, and that the profit that we
project for the refinery in 2004 does not justify maintaining
ourinvestment in the facility," said Elsenhans. "Furthermore, the
declining utilization rates illustrate that it will not be
economically viable to operate the facility going forward."
Additional information regarding the closure of the facility can be
found at http://www.shellbakersfieldrefinery.com/ . Shell Oil
Products US, a subsidiary of Shell Oil Company, is a leader in the
refining, transportation and marketing of fuels, and has a network
of nearly 7,500 branded gasoline stations in the WesternUnited
States. Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch/Shell
Group of Companies (NYSE:RD/SC). For more information, please visit
http://www.shell.com/
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990716/SHELL DATASOURCE:
Shell Oil Products US CONTACT: Cameron Smyth of Shell Oil Products
US, +1-661-253-0737 Web site: http://www.shell.com/
http://www.shellbakersfieldrefinery.com/
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