[SINGAPORE] Shell has completed the sale of its Singapore refinery and refining assets to a Chandra Asri-Glencore joint venture, the company said on Tuesday (Apr 1), while trade sources noted that the new owners have already started purchasing feedstock.
Last year, Shell announced the sale of its Bukom and Jurong islands facility, which dates back to 1961. The deal makes Indonesia-based Chandra Asri, the majority owner of the joint venture, one of South-east Asia’s largest petrochemicals players.
Financial terms of the deal, which was earlier slated to close at the end of 2024, have not been disclosed.
Shell said that its staff at the site will remain with the new venture, Aster Chemicals and Energy.
Office-based staff have relocated to new premises under the new ownership, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Shell declined to comment on the staffing adjustments.
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Chandra Asri has already made several open-spec naphtha purchases for Singapore arrivals starting in March as it took charge of Aster’s petrochemicals feedstock procurement, according to several sources familiar with the matter.
Under Shell, the Jurong Island chemicals site imported around 1.5 million tonnes per year of naphtha in 2023 and 2024, shiptracking data from Kpler showed.
Meanwhile, Swiss trading giant Glencore has made several crude purchases for May and June arrival into Singapore, including from Canada and Kazakhstan, two sources familiar with the purchases said.
Both Chandra Asri and Glencore did not immediately respond to a Reuters query for comment. Shell said the company had signed crude supply and products offtake agreements that will come into effect following the completion of the sale. REUTERS
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