(Adds details)
MEXICO CITY, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. government has
authorized the purchase by Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) of Royal
Dutch Shell's controlling interest in a Texas oil
refinery in a transaction that should conclude early next year,
Mexico's government said Wednesday.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a regular
news conference that the U.S. government had on Tuesday approved
the purchase of the Deer Park refinery stake by state-run Pemex,
calling it "very good news."
"The idea is to finalize the purchase during the first weeks
of 2022," Pemex Chief Executive Officer Octavio Romero said,
speaking alongside Lopez Obrador.
At the same conference, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo
Ebrard displayed a letter showing that the Committee on Foreign
Investment in the United States (CFIUS) had concluded there were
no unresolved national security concerns regarding the deal.
Last week, Shell said the sale of its Deer Park stake to
Pemex was pending CFIUS approval https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exclusive-new-delay-hits-royal-dutch-shells-sale-texas-refinery-mexicos-pemex-2021-12-16.
Lopez Obrador, who backed the purchase as part of a plan to
make Mexico self-sufficient in gasoline, thanked U.S. President
Joe Biden for his support during the authorization process.
Shell in May disclosed an agreement to sell its 50% interest
in the 302,800 barrels-per-day (bpd) Deer Park refinery outside
Houston to its partner Pemex for some $596 million.
CEO Romero told the news conference that the terms of the
deal had not changed since May, and that Mexico would pay off
the existing debt of both Shell and Pemex in the refinery, which
he said amounted to around $1.2 billion in total.
Shell confirmed the CFIUS approval in a message to Deer Park
refinery employees.
"In the coming days, we will work on finalizing the closing
date for the deal," the oil refinery's general manager, Guy
Hackwell, told workers.
A Shell spokesperson was not immediately available to
comment.
Once CFIUS completes its investigation, the White House has
up to 15 days to approve or reject the recommendation.
(Reporting by Dave Graham; Additional reporting by Ana Isabel
Martinez and Gary McWilliams; Editing by Bernadette Baum and
David Holmes)
