HOUSTON, May 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Equilon
Enterprises LLC d/b/a Shell Oil Products U.S. (Shell), a subsidiary
of Royal Dutch Shell plc, has
reached an agreement for the sale of its Puget Sound Refinery near
Anacortes, Washington to a
subsidiary of HollyFrontier Corporation, an independent refiner
headquartered in Texas
(HollyFrontier), for $350 million in
cash plus the value of the hydrocarbon inventory. The transaction
is expected to close in Q4 2021, subject to regulatory clearance
and other customary closing conditions.
The divestment is part of Shell's strategy to reduce its global
refinery footprint to core sites integrated with the company's
trading hubs, chemicals plants and marketing businesses. These
high-value energy and chemical parks will produce more low-carbon
fuels and speciality chemicals for our customers.
"This is another step towards reshaping our refining portfolio
to drive resilient returns," said Robin Mooldijk, Shell's EVP for
Manufacturing. "HollyFrontier is a strong operator and we believe
they will continue the refinery's legacy of prioritizing safety,
environmental performance and care for people at the site and
within the community."
The agreement covers the sale of Shell's Puget Sound Refinery,
the on-site cogeneration facility and the associated logistics
infrastructure, as well as the product offtake agreements in
support of Shell's existing retail marketing business in the
Pacific Northwest. Shell's off-site logistics assets are excluded
from the sale.
Shell thanks the Anacortes
community for being great neighbors over the past several decades,
as well as our numerous community partners across Skagit County for the many years of
connection, collaboration and support.
Notes to Editors
- The Puget Sound Refinery is currently designed to process
approximately 149,000 barrels per day of crude oil. The refinery
produces multiple types of gasoline in addition to fuel oil, diesel
fuel, propane, jet fuel, butane and petroleum coke. It also
produces nonene and tetramer, which are chemicals used in a variety
of plastic products.
- The hydrocarbon inventory will be valued at closing based on
actual volumes and prevailing market prices. The current value of
the hydrocarbon inventory would range from $150 to $180
million assuming current market prices and historic
inventory volumes under normal operating conditions.
- As this deal progresses towards closing, our Goal Zero safety
program will remain in full effect, with a focus on a safe
transition and care for our employees throughout this time of
change.
- All employees providing dedicated support to Shell's Puget
Sound Refinery will be offered employment with HollyFrontier.
Cautionary Note
The companies in which Royal Dutch
Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are
separate legal entities. In this press release "Shell", "Shell
Group" and "Group" are sometimes used for convenience where
references are made to Royal Dutch
Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the
words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in
general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used
where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular
entity or entities. ''Subsidiaries'', "Shell subsidiaries" and
"Shell companies" as used in this press release refer to entities
over which Royal Dutch Shell plc
either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and
unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are
generally referred to as "joint ventures" and "joint operations",
respectively. Entities over which Shell has significant
influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as
"associates". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to
indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by
Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after
exclusion of all third-party interest.
This press release contains forward-looking statements (within
the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and
businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All
statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be
deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are statements of future expectations that are based on
management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known
and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results, performance or events to differ materially from those
expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking
statements include, among other things, statements concerning the
potential exposure of Royal Dutch
Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's
expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and
assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by
their use of terms and phrases such as "aim", "ambition",
''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'',
''goals'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''objectives'', ''outlook'',
''plan'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''risks'', "schedule",
''seek'', ''should'', ''target'', ''will'' and similar terms and
phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future
operations of Royal Dutch Shell and
could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed
in the forward-looking statements included in this press release ,
including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil
and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c)
currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e)
reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry
competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks
associated with the identification of suitable potential
acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and
completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in
developing countries and countries subject to international
sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments
including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k)
economic and financial market conditions in various countries and
regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation
and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental
entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and
delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; (m) risks associated
with the impact of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus)
outbreak; and (n) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is
provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed
previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements
contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their
entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in
this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect
future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's Form 20-F for
the year ended December 31, 2020 (available at
www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov). These risk factors also
expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this
press release and should be considered by the reader. Each
forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press
release, May 4, 2021. Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any of its
subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statement as a result of new information,
future events or other information. In light of these risks,
results could differ materially from those stated, implied or
inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this
press release.
We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this press
release that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the
SEC. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure
in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website
www.sec.gov.
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SOURCE Shell Oil Company