(New throughout, adds comments from Shell)
By Erwin Seba
HOUSTON, May 24 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell was
still evaluating plans for an idled Louisiana oil refinery, the
company said on Monday, after a Baton Rouge investor said over
the weekend his $1.25 billion offer was not accepted.
American Clean Energy Refining LLC (ACER), based in Baton
Rouge, submitted two bids for the refinery, the first last
December, Chief Executive George R. Dabbs told Reuters on
Sunday. Neither was accepted, he said.
ACER offered $1.75 billion for the 211,146 barrel-per-day
(bpd) Convent, Louisiana, refinery before it was permanently
idled in December, Dabbs said. The company bid $1.25 billion
after it was shut, he said.
While not directly addressing ACER's bid, a Shell spokesman
said the company has not made a final decision on the plant's
future.
"Despite an extensive marketing process, a viable buyer was
not identified," said Shell spokesman Curtis Smith. "Shell
considers a wide range of qualifications and factors including a
prospective buyer’s ability and experience to operate complex
manufacturing assets safely," Smith said.
The company "is actively evaluating options for the site,
including potential additional future marketing efforts or
retention of the idled asset."
Last year, Shell decided to shut the Convent refinery
because it was unable to sell it after it became unprofitable
amid the loss of demand spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. The
company announced the closure on Nov. 5, while the refinery
shutdown was complete on Dec. 14.
Dabbs said Shell has not told ACER why its bid was not
accepted.
Shell has been shedding refineries globally to concentrate
on refineries that are paired with chemical plants. it agreed to
sell its 145,000-bpd Puget Sound Refinery to HollyFrontier Corp
and plans to sell its stake in a Deer Park, Texas, plant
to partner Pemex.
If Shell won't sell the refinery to ACER, the company plans
to build a 300,000-bpd refinery along the Mississippi River near
the Convent refinery, Dabbs said.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and
David Gregorio)
