Essar Oil close to buying Shell's UK, German units
31 Oct 2009
The Ruia-owned Indian conglomerate Essar group has been selected as the preferred bidder to buy Royal Dutch Shell PLC's three European refineries, according to media reports.
The deal is expected to be in the range of £1.5 billion.
"Yes. Essar has entered into an exclusive negotiation with Shell for buying Shell's Refinery at Stanlow in the UK and Heide and Harburg in Germany. However, it is too premature to comment any further on the matter," reports quoted an Essar spokesperson as saying.
The Stanlow, Britain's second-largest refinery, accounts for 20 per cent of all petrol production in the UK. It employs 900 workers.
The refinery, which dates back to 1924, can process 233,000 barrels a day, and the Hamburg site can process 110,000 barrels a day, while Heide has a capacity of 91,000 barrels a day.
"Shell can confirm today that we are in negotiations with Essar for the potential sale of Stanlow, Heide and Harburg refineries. For the time being, Shell will not be holding discussions with any third party other than Essar, although this does not guarantee a sale and it is too early for Shell to confirm a deal or comment on timescales," said Shell spokersperson Ms Sally Hepton.