Shell, Pemex flag threats of Deer Park sale delay

Shell, Pemex flag threats of Deer Park sale delay

Houston, 6 January (Argus) — Shell and Pemex have nearly finalized the $596mn deal to hand over control of the 340,000 b/d Deer Park, Texas, refinery to Mexico's oil firm, but a legal challenge seeking to stop the deal could present new hurdles.

Pemex's bid to purchase the 50.005pc it does not already own in the refinery was announced in May. It would allow Shell to maintain control of the onsite chemicals plant at Deer Park, a 2,300-acre facility near Houston.

The companies are about 90pc finished with work separating operations between the refinery and the chemical plant, as part of a $30mn transition plan steered by Shell, the company said in testimony submitted in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas on 4 January.